Investigator Development Core

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The Investigator Development Core (IDC) is built upon a well-established collaborative partnership between Meharry Medical College - the nation’s top producer of African American PhDs in biomedical sciences and a leader in community-engaged research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center - a global leader in precision and personalized medicine, and the University of Miami - an international hub for health disparities research and training of Latino health professionals. The IDC will support the career development of post-doctoral fellows, early-career faculty, and other early-stage investigators (ESI) in behavioral, clinical, and translational research focused on health disparities in chronic diseases that disproportionately affect African Americans, Latinos, and other populations experiencing health disparities. The overarching goal of the IDC is to produce the next generation of successful investigators studying behavioral, clinical, and translational research focused on health disparities in chronic diseases. To achieve this goal, a primary activity of the IDC will be to effectively administer a pilot awards program designed to allow ESI to generate preliminary results with a high likelihood of supporting successful extramural grant proposals to NIH. The IDC will assure that ESI are linked to outstanding local career development opportunities to enhance participation, advancement, and leadership capabilities. The IDC will apply innovative strategies to provide robust research career development resources, leveraging technology and data science to address disparities in chronic diseases, and mentoring junior faculty and post-doctoral fellows, and create a holistic, individualized, and rigorous track for each IDC participant. To achieve these goals, the IDC will pursue three specific aims: 1) To administer a pilot awards program that supports research projects focused on health disparities in chronic diseases. Projects will be led by ESI, with an emphasis on supporting those from backgrounds underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce; 2) To ensure mentoring of pilot awardees, particularly those from backgrounds underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce, to enhance competitiveness for extramural funding. We will provide consistent, proactive, skilled mentoring to ESI both before and after they apply for pilot awards; and 3) To foster academic skills development and scientific team building, emphasizing participatory research training for all ESI. The IDC is envisioned as a magnet and an engine - a magnet that attracts ESI into chronic disease health disparities research and an engine that nurtures them toward success in NIH grant funding. New extramural grant funding that results from the overall efforts of, and support provided by, the IDC will ultimately contribute to healthier communities nationwide.