Rural communities, which constitute 20% of the U.S. population, experience severe health disparities compared to their urban counterparts. According to the CDC, an array of demographic, environmental, economic, and social factors put rural residents at higher risk of death and poor health outcomes than people who live in urban areas.

The Consortium of Rural States (CORES) is a collaborative research consortium of eight 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 (2025 RFA) and sharing best practices, CORES aims to accelerate research efforts that can reduce the burden of illness and mortality in rural populations.