Enhancing Youth Violence Prevention in Urban Communities

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Mid-Career Investigator Award is designed to support the continued research development and mentoring activities of Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Over the past 15 years, Dr. Cheng has demonstrated a commitment to patient- oriented research and mentoring new investigators. She is a pediatrician and established researcher in youth injury and violence prevention with continuous federal funding as Principal Investigator since 1995. She holds multiple national leadership positions in general pediatrics, has published widely in high level journals, and is recognized as a leader in research and training. Her overarching research missions are: 1) to facilitate the healthy development of youth and prevent violence in poor urban communities through research discoveries on effective strategies; and 2) to lead efforts to involve community members in translation of research-proven comprehensive strategies to the community, practice and policy. She is an accomplished mentor who has been particularly successful in recruiting and mentoring minority investigators. Johns Hopkins University provides both the commitment to research excellence and the interdisciplinary environment for productive patient-oriented research and training. Goals for this proposal include: 1) Continuation and expansion of research activities including refinement of interventions with youth, parents and schools to increase school engagement and prevent violence; 2) Enhancement of her research capabilities through coursework at the Bloomberg School of Public Health; and 3) Training and mentorship of general pediatrics and adolescent medicine residents, fellows, and junior faculty in patient-oriented research generally and violence prevention research specifically. Funding of this K24 award will allow Dr. Cheng to be relieved of clinical and administrative duties to focus on these goals. The research plan builds on current and previous work developing community-based interventions with an emphasis on the influence of parents. The mentoring plan involves: 1) Focused recruitment of excellent candidates for patient-oriented research with emphasis on the continued recruitment and mentoring of under-represented minorities; 2) Participation in a patient-oriented research curriculum for fellows in general pediatrics and adolescent medicine; and 3) Mentoring of the next generation of investigators toward independence in patient-oriented research.