National STAR Fellowship Network

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Matriculation of disadvantaged, underrepresented and minority students into doctoral programs in the biomedical sciences remains low, despite demographic shifts in the US. There is a critical need to develop novel strategies to promote diversity of the biomedical workforce that are consistent with the predicted demographic changes. We propose to create a "National STAR Fellowship Network" of well-prepared regional centers, who are equipped to train a community of feeder institutions to recruit, connect, and mentor a diverse fellowship of biomedical students and faculty for success at their stage in the academic research continuum. The Texas Center for Health Disparities (TCHD) at the UNT Health Science Center (UNTHSC) will be the coordination and evaluation center for this network. The regional centers are NIMHD designated Centers of Excellence (NIMHD COE) in health disparities, and are uniquely positioned to provide mentoring in health disparity education, research and community outreach. In the six-month planning phase, we propose the following program goals: Goal 1: Develop partnerships with regional centers and identify their existing resources, technology infrastructure, and potential feeder institutions. Goal 2: Evaluate and develop, as needed, the best practices for implementing the goals of the NRMN, including curricula, activities, and technologies. Goal 3: Train regional center personnel via a multiday workshop, by providing effective curricula, activities, and technologies to implement the goals of the NRMN. Goal 4: Design and develop a National STAR Fellowship Network web presence, resource registration database, and community engagement tools for fellows and mentors. The proposed program is innovative as it creates a network of NIMHD COEs that have outstanding programs in health disparity education, research and community outreach, as well as a network of feeder institutions to draw upon for participants in the proposed NRMN. Accomplishment of our program goals will set the stage for the immediate creation of a NRMN that will address the critical needs of developing a diverse biomedical workforce and help solve the health disparities that exist in our nation.