​The Center for Investigations of Health and Education Disparities (CIHED) was established in 2012 as a formal organized research unit at UCSD. CIHED is a campus-wide initiative aimed at accomplishing the following ten goals:

1. Establish multi-disciplinary collaborations among faculty and research groups at UCSD currently interested in health and education disparities.
   
2. Promote and encourage other faculty members at UCSD to focus on research in health and educational disparities.
   
3. Establish UCSD as a major center of excellence for health and educational disparities research in the US.
4. Become a resource for information about health and educational disparities for the community and disseminate information regarding the causes and solutions for health and educational disparities in America.
   
5. Motivate, mentor, and train the next generation of ethnically-diverse physicians, educators, biomedical, and social scientists.
6. Educate UCSD students on different aspects of health and educational disparities and provide them with the abilities to communicate this knowledge to the general public.
7. Build a program to improve K-12 science education directed at cultivating students with 21st century skills.
8. Formulate a strategy to motivate, recruit, and facilitate access to higher education for students from disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds and those with disabilities.
   
9. Create an outreach program to promote access of the San Diego community to healthcare services, health and prevention education, and pathways to robust opportunities for scholastic and employment development in the health sciences.
10. Build an efficient communication system between scientists and health professionals and the education community through innovative media, events and curriculum.

Through collaborative research, training, and outreach, CIHED is working to make an immediate difference in our community by closing the social gaps in health and education.