Within walking distance of the Cathedral of Learning, African-Americans are dying from diseases that Pittsburgh is expert in treating.

So the University of Pittsburgh has landed a $4.8 million grant over five years to establish a research center to try solving the disparity in health care.

With the National Institutes of Health grant, the Center for Minority Health in Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health will establish the Research Center of Excellence in Minority Health Disparities.

NIH's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities awarded the grant to Pitt.

Stephen B. Thomas, CMH director at Pitt and principal investigator, said the funding will help turn scientific findings on minority health into action to prevent disease and promote better health among African-Americans.

"This is not about saving money, but about saving lives," Dr. Thomas said. "We will get people and the African-American community in a position to take control of their health. They must save themselves, and we can make sure they have the information they need to take charge of their own health."

Already 6,000 participants have been enrolled in the Healthy Black Family Project to promote lifestyle changes, including more physical activity, improved nutrition, reductions in stress and better access to medical care. The project has its headquarters in East Liberty, with a satellite office in Wilkinsburg, with plans to expand to the Hill District and the North Side.

Dr. Thomas said the new program will identify 100 families, then go into their homes, study their lifestyles and even open their refrigerators to see what they eat.

"We can't continue to wait for people to become sick then spend huge amounts of money to treat them," he said, noting the focus on low-cost, high-yield lifestyle changes. "We're one of the best hopes in the country in demonstrating this can be done."

Eliminating disparities in health care "is a daunting task that will require more than just good intentions," Dr. Donald Burke, GSPH dean and the Jonas Salk Chair in Global Health at Pitt. "Excellent science, visionary leadership and a deep moral commitment are required to bring about change."

As part of the new center, Dr. Charles Reynolds III, director of the Late Life Mood Disorders Center in the department of psychiatry at Pitt's School of Medicine, will conduct a study in preventing depression with a problem-solving therapy. Training the Healthy Black Family staff to identify people at risk for depression will help avert its onset. Depression commonly is associated with people suffering from diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

"This grant enables us to look at solutions," Dr. Thomas said.

More information is available at www.cmh.pitt.edu.