The IUHR’s seven faculty, three graduate fellows and nine research staff are focusing research on health issues that disproportionately impact urban communities, such as substance abuse, HIV/AIDS prevention and policy, interventions for children diagnosed with asthma, cardiovascular disease behavioral interventions, nutrition behavioral interventions with school age children, traditional Chinese health practices, racial and ethnic differences in service delivery patterns, and brain mechanisms involved in opiate tolerance. The goal of the IUHR is to improve the health of urban populations through the generation of knowledge that informs health policies, disease prevention programs and health services. In its first year of funding, the IUHR received more than $1.4 million in research and training grants and has partnered with the Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts Department of Public Health and community health centers. In addition to these agencies, the IUHR’s Advisory Board includes representation from Partners Health Care, Boston Public Schools, Blue Cross/Blue Shield as well as nationally renowned scholars from diverse institutions throughout the country. In 2004, the IUHR hosted the Third International Confernce on Urban Health. Founded in 2002.