The Mount Sinai School of Medicine has been awarded more than $7 million by the federal government to study the underlying causes of racial and ethnic disparities in health issues and medical treatment.

The grant -- provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the Department of Health and Human Services -- will support four coordinated projects that track the lack of proven medical and surgical procedures recommended in the East and Central Harlem communities. After the results are gathered, researchers will design strategies to help ensure minority groups receive equivalent medical treatment, Mount Sinai officials report.

The research is part of a five-year, $5 million AHRQ initiative to help end racial disparities in the health care industry. The grants are funded in partnership with the National Cancer Institute and the Office of Research on Minority Health Care, also part of HHS.

The four primary health concerns the initiative will address are premature births, breast cancer, recurrent strokes and hypertension.

"Despite enormous improvements in health care in recent years, there remains a significant disparity in the proportions of minority populations suffering from numerous disorders including diabetes, hypertension and certain forms of cancer," said Arthur H. Rubenstein, Dean of Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "(The research team has) been at the forefront of research to remove these disparities for many years. This new funding will significantly enhance their efforts."