About Us

Center Overview

The Brooklyn Health Promotion Center (BHPC) advances partnerships between SUNY Downstate, academic and organizational collaborators such as the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, and governmental partners including the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH). The Center’s mission is to promote health advancement in Brooklyn, New York City, and beyond through applied research, training, and advocacy that improve the conditions influencing well-being.

History and Background

The Brooklyn Health Promotion Center (BHPC), formerly known as BHDC, was established in 2004 as an innovative collaboration among SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President. This partnership sought to improve health outcomes across Brooklyn by increasing the involvement of academics, residents, and policymakers in identifying and addressing persistent health challenges.

The Center originated from recommendations in the 2003 Milano Report to the Brooklyn Borough President, which proposed the creation of a “Brooklyn Institute on Health Disparities” dedicated to advancing research and organizational development.

Under the leadership of Founding Director Dr. Luther T. Clark, the Center received initial funding from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) to launch its foundational programs. Additional NIMHD support followed under Dr. Clinton Brown in 2009 and Dr. Moro Salifu in 2012, strengthening the Center’s research infrastructure and training capacity.

In 2017, the Center and SUNY Downstate were awarded a $10 million NIMHD endowment to establish the Translational Program of Health Disparities Research Training (TRANSPORT)—a comprehensive research training initiative designed to develop scholars from high school through faculty ranks.

In July 2023, Downstate received a second $10 million John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Grant, extending the Center’s capacity to train investigators from underrepresented backgrounds. The combined $20 million endowment supports six research training programs and four new initiatives that address critical health challenges across Brooklyn.

Expanding the Center 

Brooklyn represents one of the largest urban populations in the nation and continues to face persistent gaps in health outcomes and access to care. The Brooklyn Health Promotion Center (BHPC) responds to this need by serving as a multidisciplinary hub dedicated to fostering innovation, research, and applied interventions that strengthen the health of Brooklyn residents.

The transition BHDC to the Brooklyn Health Promotion Center (BHPC) reflects a strategic evolution—broadening the Center’s mission and scope to address health from a prevention and promotion perspective. The redefined structure integrates multiple disciplines, unifies administrative processes, and aligns resources to deliver more cohesive, data-driven initiatives.

BHPC serves as a collaborative nexus linking the expertise of SUNY Downstate’s faculty, the applied health outreach of the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, and the policy and programmatic capacity of government partners. This convergence allows the Center to design and implement initiatives that are responsive, evidence-based, and sustainable.

BHPC will launch new initiatives and partnerships that extend beyond traditional academic boundaries. Signature programs will emphasize shared learning, data utilization, and institutional capacity building—creating actionable pathways that translate research findings into measurable health improvements across the borough.