“The CREST coalition is dedicated to improving the health of our communities in the greater Boston area. We seek to establish partnerships and collaborations with health, social service and research organizations committed to securing optimal health outcomes through research, education and advocacy.”

Linda B. Hudson, ScD, MSPH, CREST Director

“CREST is a consortium of organizations and individuals committed to improving health outcomes by addressing health challenges experienced by our local populations in the Greater Boston Area. Together, we will foster interactions between community-academic partners who share an interest in improving public health.”

Judith Thermidor, CSI Support & Development

Overview

CREST is a collaborative of organizations and individuals committed to improving the health and welfare of underrepresented populations. Together, we will foster interactions between community-academic partners who share an interest in improving public health. Additionally, we encourage researcher-community organization collaborative efforts to seek funding for research and services in our surrounding community.

CREST’s Mission

To use research, education, and advocacy as tools that aid in the achievement of a healthy, sustainable livelihood for individuals that live, work, and play amongst the populations we serve.

Guiding Principles

  • Accountable & Trustworthy Partnerships
  • Collaborative Decision-making & Co-Learning
  • Creating Sustainable strategies

Who Do We Serve?

We seek to recruit populations within the Greater Boston Area that have been identified as being less likely to participate in research opportunities. This includes, but is not limited to, older adults, people that experience disabilities, impairments, and chronic pain, and those with limited engagement or access to research opportunities given lack of knowledge or prior experience with the research community.

Eligibility

Educators, small businesses owners, healthcare professionals, interdenominational faith-based organizations, organizations that offer support services related to health literacy, language interpretation/translation, and individuals/organizations interested in community-academic research partnerships.

CREST Services

The CREST team:

  • Works with communities to prioritize their needs and facilitate community-driven research projects
  • Provides researcher/community stakeholder trainings
  • Identifies experts to comment and educate on contemporary (pressing) health issues
  • Provides evidence-based and data-driven information to inform our work
  • Develops capacity-building strategies and programs for academic-community partnerships
  • Assists in connecting research teams to patient advocacy groups and community-based organizations that are interested/would benefit from the research process.

Our Value Proposition

  • Networking and dialogue amongst clinicians, researchers, and patients
  • Increased understanding of the different roles community members can have in the research process
  • Increased number of tools and strategies for researchers to include participants in the study design process stakeholders, of how to protect individuals engaged with human subjects research.
  • Increased number of tools and strategies for patients and caregivers to negotiate and assert their needs, rights, and interests
  • Increased understanding, on the part of all

CREST Educational Resources

Contact

To contact us, pease submit a service request.

Linda B. Hudson, ScD, MSPH, Director

Binta Barry, MS, Senior Project Manager