COHRA Project
The Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia (COHRA) has been working in West
Virginia communities for the past 17+ years. COHRA is an initiative that operates
throughout the state, and is funded by a R01 research grant (#DE014899, Factors Contributing
to Oral Health Disparities in Appalachia) from the National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research, one of the National Institutes of Health.
At its heart, COHRA is a research project that aims to identify factors that contribute
to the burden of dental problems, and oral health disparities, in children and
their families in our state, and throughout Appalachia, and thus to select the
most promising areas for intervention.
In all of the COHRA projects, we are assessing a broad array of factors that lead
to health and disease, particularly in the realm of oral health.
Our areas
of investigation include genetics, psychosocial factors (including maternal/postpartum
depression, among others), microbiological indices, water quality, degree of rurality,
and many more.