The College of Health and Human Development has created a new center to research the health problems of "special populations."

The Center for Special Populations and Health will study a wide range of subjects, including women's health issues and aging. Gerald E. McClearn, dean of the College of Health and Human Development, said the college's mission for the center is to be at the forefront of research in this area.

Students will benefit from the knowledge generated by multidisciplinary research, because the knowledge may be incorporated into the classroom in the future, McClearn added.

Toni Miles, director of the center, said a multidisciplinary approach is important to research the health status and needs of special populations.

The definition of a special population varies according to what information the researcher is looking for, Miles said. Although a population may consist of a group with a particular racial background or ethnicity, University students or a rural community are also examples of populations.

The college will pay for the center's basic operating costs and the research will be funded by several grants, McClearn said. The center will focus on promoting health and preventing disease.

Miles said not enough attention has been paid to promoting health in different populations. "You need a bunch of different perspectives to address these issues," she said.

Miles' plans for the center include undergraduate and graduate student involvement in the actual research. Other goals for the center include collecting information and making it available to students and other researchers.

"What I would like to have happen is that we will house data sets here that are unique," Miles said. For example, Miles is in the process of establishing a national registry of elderly twins as one of the center's projects.

Alexandra Sotereanos, co-director of Womyn's Concerns, said the center will be helpful in improving the health of women overall and also in recognizing any special needs women of different ethnic backgrounds may have.

"Recognizing women's health needs is crucial and the center sounds like it is a very positive development in the area of women's health," she said.