The mission of the Community Engagement and Outreach (CEOC) is to provide the infrastructure for improving the health of the community through sustained and expanded community partnerships. The CEOC will give the community a voice in the research conducted in its neighborhoods and facilitate the development of community outreach initiatives. By integrating research into the community the CEOC will strengthen the research capacity at the community level and enhance enrollment in clinical trials. The Director of the CEOC will be Dr. Walid Michelen, a national leader in minority health, Chief of Staff at Lincoln Hospital and Director of the Renaissance Health Care Network Diagnostic and Treatment Center, where research projects will be conducted. The Co-Directors will be Dr. Phillips-Caesar from Weill Cornell and Dr. Kathy Nokes from Hunter School of Nursing. The specific aims are: 1) To develop a Community Advisory Board that will lead efforts to develop and expand community partnerships within Central Harlem and the South Bronx. The role of the Board will be to participate in the current projects that are proposed in this application as well as to be become active participants in designing, implementing, and disseminating results of new research projects. Specific aim 2) is to work with community partners to conduct educational programs targeted at improving community knowledge and awareness of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Specific aim 3) is to develop the capacity of community-based organizations to conduct health disparities research and;4) is to develop mechanisms to accelerate the dissemination of research findings to key stakeholders and to insure the optimal implementation of successful programs. In spite of the decreasing mortality in cardiovascular deaths and cancer, these improvements have not penetrated communities of Central Harlem and the South Bronx. Reasons for this are multifactorial and may include the mistrust of medical institutions and medical research and a lack of culturally relevant interventions. The CEOC will work with the other cores to achieve a climate of trust and mutual understanding that will enhance the likelihood of success and sustainability of CEDREC.