UM-Dearborn Assistant Professor Natalie Sampson’s research into public health issues in Detroit’s Delray neighborhood has spanned a decade — and has begun to play a role in shaping public policy. But when talking about the years of work, she definitely prefers shining the spotlight on the community and her partners.

Can grocery delivery improve the health of pregnant women? Are neighborhood entrepreneurship programs increasing economic mobility for low-income Detroiters? What role could a modern greenhouse play in expanding the ancient African art of bead-making in Detroit? These are research questions three teams of community and academic partners will tackle this year with support from the Detroit Urban Research Center and Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan.

“We’re not just showcasing the work of the university, but of the university and our partners in the city. We hope there will be a lot of spark and new partnerships form,” said Sonia Harb, special advisor on Detroit engagement for the provost’s office, of the purpose of um3detroit.

The alarming increase of childhood obesity and other preventable cardiovascular risk factors compelled Dr. Kim Eagle to create Project Healthy Schools (PHS) — a community-University of Michigan Health System collaborative that provides a school-based program to reduce childhood obesity and its long-term health risks.

How does a city grappling with how to thrive in the present day begin to think about what it will look like 50 years down the road? That was a question the Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice (DWEJ) wanted answered when it assembled the Detroit Climate Action Collaborative (DCAC) in 2011.

Elizabeth Birr Moje, the associate dean for research and community engagement and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the School of Education at the University of Michigan, focuses her research on communities and schools in Detroit.