Catalyzing Systemic Change at Drexel University to Support Diverse Faculty in Health Disparities Research

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PROJECT SUMMARY The overarching goals of the Faculty Development Core (FDC) are to develop and implement best practices at the department, college and university for mentoring and supporting diverse early-stage faculty dedicated to health disparities research and to enhance research development and investigator capacity to conduct health disparities research and submit competitive NIH R01 grant applications. Early career faculty will represent diverse races and ethnicities, be committed to and engaged in the spectrum of health disparities research (detecting, understanding, reducing) and focus in one of our cluster areas (aging, chronic disease and environmental determinants). The specific aims of core are (1) To provide professional development and implement best practices for mentoring and sponsorship to support the career development of the FIRST faculty cohort and prepare them for successful promotion and tenure; (2) To support the research development of the FIRST cohort to maximize the ability of the cohort to obtain R01-type research funding by their third year on faculty; and (3) To build a community of Assistant Professors with a special focus on health disparities (from population health to intervention) to increase high impact interdisciplinary research on health disparities research at Drexel University. We will accomplish these aims through a set of evidence-based structured and unstructured activities including: (1) one-on-one mentoring sensitive to intersectionality; (2) peer and near-peer mentoring (3) use of the consultancy model, (4) writing accountability groups, (5) professional development workshops (5) support for teaching and (6) research development activities including a grant writing bootcamp and grant review activities. In addition, we will implement networking and scientific exchange events to promote a culture of inclusion, reduce isolation and promote interdisciplinary and collaborative health disparities research across the University generally. Our scientific premise is that successful implementation of these aims will enable FIRST faculty to advance their scholarship and result in the submission of competitive NIH R01s which have potential to advance health disparities research and impact individual and population health outcomes. We will leverage programs and policies already in place as well as a rich health disparities research environment at Drexel University to develop an innovative comprehensive faculty development plan that supports the members of the FIRST Cohort and provides a pathway to success that will not only benefit the FIRST cohort but can be scaled up to benefit Drexel University as a whole. Innovative aspects of our approach include the strong focus on interdisciplinary approaches to health disparities research from etiology to intervention, the bridging of public health and nursing and health professions (with connections to other areas such as arts and sciences and medicine), the grounding in an urban university strongly committed to civic engagement, and the leveraging of strength as a center of excellence in health disparities research and a University context committed to diversity and inclusion reflected in recent growth and investments.