AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) _ Georgia Regents University has been chosen to lead a research program meant to increase minority access to clinical trials and cancer treatments.

GRU officials say the university’s cancer center has been awarded a five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to lead the research program in partnership with the Morehouse School of Medicine and the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University.

University officials say the Georgia program is one of 12 in the country meant to set community-based cancer research priorities and help address barriers that have historically prevented minorities from participating in clinical trials and other cancer research initiatives.