Investigator Development Core

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Abstract: Investigator Development Core The overall goal and theme of the Duke Center for REsearch to AdvanCe Healthcare Equity (REACH Equity) is to reduce racial disparities in health through interventions that affect the clinical encounter. To achieve this goal, the Investigator Development Core will provide pilot grants for early-stage investigators, including junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows and other early stage investigators. Using a peer review process, in each grant year, we will fund three scholars for one year, with institutional funds providing a second year of funding. We will prioritize selection of projects that address the Center's theme: to develop and test interventions that reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health by ultimately improving the quality of patient-centered care in the clinical encounter through better provider communication, high quality interpersonal processes of care, and shared decision making. Consistent with our Center's goal of increasing diversity in the disparities research work-force, at least 50% of funded projects will be led by under-represented minority investigators. Awardees will engage in the Center's career development opportunities (see Administrative Core, Research Education and Training subcore), including a core curriculum, works-in-progress seminar series, and annual disparities research colloquium. Early-stage investigators will be invited under the Center's “umbrella” of collaboration and fellowship. In this way, we will develop the disparities investigators of the future. The specific aims of the Investigator Development Core are to (1) Fund 3/year early-stage investigators as “Disparities Research Scholars” to conduct pilot research on health disparities, with a goal of at least 50% of awardees from under- represented groups; and (2) With institutional support, supplement the pilot funding to provide awardees with a mentored career development award.