Minority Populations Prevention Researcher Training

描述(申请人提供)：本申请寻求继续为少数民族人口预防研究人员培训(MPPRT)计划提供资金。MPPRT通过为具有文化专长并正在发起创新研究计划的社会和行为预防科学家提供研究、教育和指导，满足了种族和少数民族社区对具有文化能力的性传播感染预防研究的迫切需求。这一为期五年的项目将提供教育、指导和技术援助，通过将目前成功的项目扩大到：1)培训MPPRT科学家的研究方法(如行为测量、人种学、地理信息系统制图、结构方程建模和社会网络分析)，以建立科学家对影响种族和少数民族人群中STI/艾滋病毒风险行为的结构和个人因素进行跨学科STI/HIV预防研究的能力；2)为试点研究提供资金，这些研究将为多年拨款提案提供初步数据；3)在撰写和提交多年期拨款申请方面提供教育和指导；以及4)为MPPRT科学家提供持续的技术援助和指导，以继续他们的研究计划，以预防种族和少数民族人口中的性传播感染/艾滋病毒。目标1、目标2和目标3将通过在加州大学旧金山分校艾滋病预防研究中心举行的为期六周的密集暑期研讨会和一对一会议来实现，并提供资金进行试点研究。从2009年夏天开始，美国大学和研究机构的两名新科学家将在2009年、2010年和2011年的每年夏天加入该计划。这些科学家将设计试点研究，他们将在下一学年进行，并在第二个夏天回到CAPS，分析他们试点研究的数据。第三个夏天，他们将回到CAPS起草一份更大的拨款提案，提交给联邦或非联邦机构。为了实现目标4，前科学家将继续获得MPPRT导师的个性化建议和支持，包括同行评议和与科学家研究计划相关的科学问题的咨询。这些协作研究经验和跨学科网络机会提供的指导将导致研究美国少数族裔人口的科学家进行的高质量性传播感染预防研究大幅增加。 公共卫生相关性：拟议的研究教育研究计划的意义在于促进对导致少数民族健康和其他健康差距的疾病和残疾的发展和进展的了解，这是国家卫生研究院减少并最终消除健康差距的战略研究计划的主要目标。很少有领域比了解少数民族人群性传播感染(STI)的差异对改善国家健康更关键了。迫切需要基于证据的创新干预措施，依赖于经过充分研究和特定于文化的人类行为理论，以遏制艾滋病毒/艾滋病和其他性传播疾病在少数群体中日益高涨的趋势。艾滋病毒/艾滋病和其他性传播感染对青少年和青壮年人口的影响不成比例。少数族裔科学家处于独特的地位，可以在解决这些问题方面发挥领导作用，并为在受这些流行病影响最严重的少数群体社区进行的性传播感染预防和生殖健康研究作出重大贡献。拟议的教育和指导计划旨在通过向有前途的社会和行为预防科学家提供种子资金来进行试点研究和指导基础设施来解决这一研究赤字，从而使这些科学家能够成功地申请并获得NIH、CDC和非联邦资金，以便在受STI流行影响最严重的有色人种社区开展严格的多年研究项目。少数民族人口预防研究人员培训计划通过创新的为期六周的夏季驻留计划实现这些目标，该计划包括研讨会、与导师的一对一咨询和同行审查，并得到试点研究资金和学年期间导师的持续支持。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application seeks continuation of funding for the Minority Populations Prevention Researcher Training (MPPRT) program. The MPPRT addresses the urgent needs for culturally-competent STI- prevention research in racial and ethnic minority communities by offering research education and mentoring for social and behavioral prevention scientists who have cultural expertise and are initiating innovative programs of research. This five-year project will provide educational, mentoring and technical assistance to facilitate the development and continuation of innovative STI/HIV-prevention research in racial and ethnic minority populations by expanding the currently successful program to: 1) Train MPPRT scientists in research methods (such as behavioral measurement, ethnography, GIS mapping, structural equation modeling, and social network analysis) to build scientists' capacity to conduct interdisciplinary STI/HIV-prevention research of structural and individual factors affecting STI/HIV-risk behavior in racial and ethnic minority populations; 2) Provide funding for pilot research that will yield preliminary data for multi-year grant proposals; 3) Provide education and mentoring in the writing and submission of multi- year grant proposals; and 4) Provide ongoing technical assistance and mentoring to MPPRT scientists to continue their programs of research to prevent STI/HIV in racial and ethnic minority populations. Aims 1, 2, and 3 will be met through an intensive six-week summer program of seminars and one-on-one meetings to be held at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies as well as provision of funds to conduct a pilot research study. Beginning in the summer of 2009, two new scientists from U.S. universities and research institutions will be added to the program each summer in 2009, 2010, and 2011. These scientists will design pilot studies, which they will conduct during the following academic year, and return to CAPS for a second summer to analyze data from their pilot studies. In the third summer they will return to CAPS to write a larger grant proposal that will be submitted to a federal or non-federal agency. Aim 4 will be met by providing former scientists continued access to individualized advice and support from MPPRT mentors, including peer review and consultation regarding scientific questions related to the scientist's research program. The guidance provided by these collaborative research experiences and opportunities for interdisciplinary networking will result in a substantial increase in high quality STI-prevention research by scientists studying minority populations in the U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Significance of the Proposed Program of Research Education Research to advance understanding of the development and progression of diseases and disabilities that contribute to minority health and other health disparities is a major goal of the National Institutes of Health's strategic research plan to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities. There are few areas that are more critical to improving the nation's health than understanding the disparities in sexually- transmitted infections (STIs) in minority populations. Innovative, evidence-based interventions that rely on well-researched and culturally-specific theories of human behavior are urgently needed to stem the rising tide of HIV/AIDS and other sexually- transmitted infections in minority populations. HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted infections exert a disproportionate impact in adolescent and young adult populations. Racial and ethnic minority scientists are uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in addressing these issues and to make major contributions to STI-prevention and reproductive health research being conducted in minority communities most affected by these epidemics. The proposed education and mentoring program aims to address this research deficit through offering seed funding to promising social and behavioral prevention scientists to conduct pilot studies and a mentoring infrastructure to empower these scientists to successfully apply for and receive NIH, CDC and non-federal funding to conduct rigorous, multi-year research projects in the communities of color most affected by STI epidemics. The Minority Populations Prevention Researcher Training program meets these goals via an innovative, intensive six-week summer in-residence program of seminars, one-on-one consultations with mentors, and peer reviews, reinforced by pilot study funding and ongoing support from mentors during the academic year.