There is no doubt Christopher N.H. Jenkins, MA, MPH, was loved. Jenkins passed away in 2000, but family, friends and colleagues remember him still as a selfless, passionate scientist who loved and cared about others, especially the Vietnamese community. In 1986, Jenkins, along with Stephen McPhee, MD, co-founded UCSF's Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project (VCHPP), an organization dedicated to conducting research and public health programs for Vietnamese Americans.

Although their paths took them to different parts of the world, Jenkins and his sister Satia Jenkins Bernen were similar in temperament and values. To help remember her brother and his work, Bernen bequeathed $300,000 to VCHPP in Jenkins' name.

Satia Jenkins Bernen with her brother Christopher Jenkins

VCHPP (also known as Sức Khỏe Là Vàng, or "Health is Gold," from a Vietnamese proverb) currently manages four studies targeting hepatitis B awareness, tobacco use, and breast and cervical cancer screening in the Vietnamese American community. With more than 50 research publications, VCHPP has conducted research programs funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state of California.

Findings from VCHPP programs are beginning to be thoughtfully applied to other Asian American groups, growing the collaborations, research and effect Jenkins helped begin years ago, states Tung Nguyen, MD, co-director of VCHPP and UCSF associate professor. VCHPP is a part of the Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness Research and Training (AANCART), funded by the NCI.

"What we've done through AANCART, for example, is develop a direct link between our work, AANCART and the American Cancer Society to distribute all the educational materials we've developed in Vietnamese and English to help others do so in many other different languages," says McPhee, UCSF professor of medicine and co-director of VCHPP.

Bernen's gift is among the first of its kind for VCHPP, which serves a predominantly immigrant population. "We're passionate about what we do," Nguyen says. "We fight for the underdog. We fight for people who can't speak for themselves. And we want to do it in a way that's proven effective."

McPhee adds, "In VCHPP's continued work in advocacy, health education and scientific evaluation, Jenkins' spirit lives on."

To support the Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project, contact Helen Dannelly at 415/502-6293 or hdannelly@support.ucsf.edu.