Rural communities make up 20% of the U.S. population and often face greater challenges to good health than their urban counterparts. According to the CDC, a combination of demographic, environmental, economic and social factors contribute to higher risk of death and poor health outcomes among rural residents compared to those living in urban areas.

The Consortium of Rural States (CORES) is a collaborative research consortium of nine academic medical institutions that are working to improve health in rural communities and are funded by the Clinical & Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health.

Through inter-institutional pilot funding and sharing best practices, CORES aims to accelerate research efforts that can reduce the burden of illness and mortality in rural populations.