The Louisiana Center for Advancing Underrepresented Scientists Careers in Health, Nutrition, Obesity, and Disparities Research (LAUNCHED)

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Abstract/Summary It is increasingly recognized that a diverse workforce is important to academic productivity. However, members of ethnic minority groups are currently underrepresented in academia. This underrepresentation in academia has a direct effect on health disparities research, including studies related to nutrition, obesity, and/or diabetes. Underrepresented minority (URM) scientists tend to engage in research that addresses issues relevant to ethnic minority groups. In order for URM scientists to make a sustained impact on issues relevant to the National Institute for Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), they must be able to obtain federal grant funding. The Louisiana Center for Advancing Underrepresented Scientists Careers in Health, Nutrition, Obesity, and Disparities Research (LAUNCHED) will recruitment, competing develop a comprehensive program of mentoring, training, and career development to increase the success rate of URM scientists for federal research funding.The LAUNCHED proposal is a collaboration among several institutions with existing working relationships. The project will be led by investigators from Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, LA, along with Tulane University, Louisiana State University (LSU) A&M, LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSUHSC-NO). The program will also involve two Historically Black Colleges and Universities including Xavier University of Louisiana, and Southern University. Two cohorts of URM scientists (cohort members) will be recruited, and will include 10-20 mentees who will each spend 2 years in the program. Pennington Biomedical is home to several obesity and diabetes related center grants, which will work synergistically with the LAUNCHED program to provide a comprehensive training program for the cohort members. The center grant infrastructure will allow the LAUNCHED program to provide cohort members with mentorship, grant writing opportunities, didactic instruction in nutrition and diabetes, and a Pilot and Feasibility program. There will also be several components that are tailored to the specific needs of URM scientists. The LAUNCHED program will provide didactics on diabetes, obesity, and nutrition as it relates to health disparities. Mentors will be educated on barriers facing URM scientists and will be provided with specific skills for working effectively with URM scientists. Senior URM scientists will interact with cohort members in order to serve as role models and share strategies for academic success. Career coaching will be delivered by professional coaches with experience working with URM scientists. In addition, the LAUNCHED program has expertise in mentoring and career coaching organization to work successfully with ethnic minority women. Ultimately, the LAUNCHED program will provide a comprehensive and data-driven training program that will prepare URM scientists to successfully compete for NIH grant funding.