New Research Hub Targets Community Health Needs

Academic researchers often have long-term goals of solving society’s biggest medical challenges, while clinicians at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) focus on more immediate needs, delivering timely, high-quality care in underserved communities.

UCI Health’s Family Health Centers in Santa Ana and Anaheim thus might seem an unlikely place to unite research and healthcare. Yet being among the few FQHCs nationwide operated by an academic health system, the centers present a unique opportunity.

“These FQHCs can increase the impact of research,” says John Billimek, PhD, associate professor and vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Family Medicine for UC Irvine’s School of Medicine.

The new Family Health Center Research Hub aims to help researchers better respond to community needs, facilitating collaboration built on transparency and trust. Coordinated by the HELIOS Lab (Healthcare Energized through Listening, Investigation, Opportunities and Services), the FHC Research Hub will guide researchers in tailoring their studies to complement care in an FQHC setting.

Responding to Community Needs

“One of our main goals is to align research more closely with clinic and community priorities,” says Tanya Honey, project director of the HELIOS Lab. “The hub encourages investigators to consider how their research can produce not only long-term benefits to society but also immediate, tangible impacts for the clinic and its patients.”

The FHC Research Hub helps researchers consider how their study benefits patients. Does it provide access to otherwise unavailable treatments or educational resources? Does it offer classes or mental health wellness visits, or impactful compensation? Is the team working with community-based organizations or local schools to design the study? Have they outlined ways to share data?

“Community input helps identify research topics relevant to the community, and clinic leadership helps determine key outcomes,” says Billimek. “We’re going to support investigators in not just sharing scientific output — the p-value and the error bars — but also the concrete impacts for the patient, encouraging them to think about outcomes that might be less academic but very relevant to communities.”

The FHC Research Hub is supported by the UC Irvine Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS), School of Medicine’s Dean’s Office, and Department of Family Medicine. “I want to acknowledge their vision and leadership in helping this take off,” says Billimek. “They see the potential for really growing our research impact by delivering results valued by the community. This, in turn, increases the impact of the research to the scientific fields themselves.”

Complementing Care & Building Trust

Working with an FQHC differs from other clinical settings, given the mandate to achieve certain health outcomes while caring for all patients, regardless of ability to pay.

“FQHCs have to commit to ensuring a certain level of access,” says Billimek. “Timely appointments are very important, so we have to make sure our research doesn’t interrupt the flow of the clinic.”

The HELIOS Lab has a lot of experience with complementing rather than disrupting patient care, expertise Billimek hopes to share through the FHC Research Hub. The goal is to coach researchers to design studies that minimize the burden on clinic resources and align with the FQHC’s mission.

“Whenever our studies can help connect people with preventive resources and amplify the outreach of the clinic,” says Billimek, “we complement things that are important to the clinic.”

Another function of the FHC Research Hub will be to provide a community-facing annual report, disseminated through at least one community event and one event hosted at the FQHC each year. “We want the Hub to serve as a venue for sharing things back with the community,” says Billimek. “This is how you build trust.”

Shaping Future Clinicians

Beyond supporting high-impact, community-focused research, the FHC Research Hub also creates meaningful educational opportunities. “It provides a pathway for students who aspire to become clinical leaders in underserved communities — giving them early exposure to research and care in an FQHC setting,” says Honey. “This experience can help shape their future careers while supporting the clinic’s broader mission.”

Billimek notes that providing hands-on experience to students was an impetus for starting the HELIOS Lab, and the FHC Research Hub further supports that goal. “We have so many first-generation students, students from all kinds of backgrounds with amazing family stories, and they’re full of empathy and desire and drive,” he says. “We create opportunities for these students, helping them work their way into interacting more with patients and FQHC care teams, as they engage in student-led research projects.”

Aligning with the School of Medicine’s mission — Discover. Teach. Heal. — the FHC Research Hub encourages impactful research, provides hands-on experience for tomorrow’s healthcare providers, and supports preventative care in underserved communities. “This model emphasizes transparency, responsiveness to community priorities, and a shared commitment to advancing health equity,” says Honey.

“We’re excited to hear from investigators, both within and outside of the university, as well as from community-based organizations interested in partnering with an FQHC,” says Billimek. “We’re starting with what we know best as an academic institution and hope this serves as a platform to cultivate greater collaborations with the broader community.”

If you are a researcher interested in partnering with an FQHC, or a community member who might benefit from learning more about this collaborative model, contact Tanya Honey at fqhcresearch@hs.uci.edu.