The Translational Arm of the Center for Transformative Health

The Institute of Urban Public Health is where the research conducted at the Center for Transformative Health meets Houston's communities. The Institute exists because research on its own does not change health. Research changes health when it is brought into the places where people live, work, worship, and seek care, and into partnership with the organizations and leaders already doing that work.

IUPH is the operational arm that takes CTH's research findings, frameworks, and tools and translates them into community-facing programs, partnerships, and place-based work across Houston.

Our Model

What the Institute Does

The Center for Transformative Health and the Institute of Urban Public Health are paired entities by design. CTH conducts the research the studies, the frameworks, the publications, the federal proposals. IUPH operationalizes the research into community-facing work and feeds community insight back into CTH's research questions. The relationship is bidirectional: research informs programs, and programs inform research.

This model reflects the founding insight that produced CTH: that public health infrastructure has been built primarily to serve institutions, and that closing the gap between institutional research and community impact requires deliberate structural attention to both sides of the connection.

  • Bringing CTH's research insights into direct community engagement through programs, screenings, and partner events

  • Building and sustaining partnerships with community-based organizations, faith communities, health agencies, and civic institutions

  • Operating CTH's community-facing data tools and resources, including the CTH Data Hub

  • Supporting community health worker integration into research and program delivery

  • Providing a translational pathway from scientific evidence into community-defined action

Community Programs

The Institute houses CTH's portfolio of community-facing programs:

  • Community dialogue programming addressing health priorities and concerns identified by Houston residents. Sign up here.

  • Direct community education and engagement focused on chronic disease prevention and management. Learn more here.

  • Coordinated access events bringing CTH and partner organizations together with community members for screenings, education, and connection to resources. Learn more here.

  • Public-facing community health data tool, providing accessible health information for Houston communities and the partners working with them. Learn more here.

Partners

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Connect with the Institute

Community faith leaders, health agencies, and civic partners interested in collaboration are invited to reach out through the Connect page.