The mission of the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institute, which was founded in December 2004, is to study and provide solutions for the elimination of health disparities affecting African Americans as well as other underserved populations. The vision of the Cobb Institute is to become the repository of information regarding the health of African Americans, with holdings in statistics, solutions to health disparities, and best practices to prove the efficacy of these solutions. The major diseases on which the Cobb Institute is particularly focused include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, HIV/AIDS, and cancer (prostate, breast, colorectal). The scientific sections of the National Medical Association form the basis of the research capabilities of the Cobb Institute. Clinical trials performed by these research physicians and their institutions will provide cutting-edge data for the Cobb Institute to review, validate, and publicize in scientific journals and other communication vehicles.