RCMAR National Coordinating Center at UCLA

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Project Summary/Abstract Our nation is experiencing two conflicting trends: the population of older adults of color is growing rapidly, but neither the number of researchers of color nor research output on this population reflects these changing demographics. The Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) focus on mentoring, improving the skills, and building the networks of researchers from underrepresented groups with a focus on aging and fostering state of the art research on minority elderly. Creating and sustaining an infrastructure that promotes the development of national research networks, facilitates cross-site and cross-program collaborations, maximizes the dissemination of RCMAR-generated science, and informs the NIA’s program administration is best accomplished by a Coordinating Center (CC). UCLA has run the CC for the RCMAR program for the past 15 years and is applying through this new mechanism to use its experience and knowledge of the RCMAR program to continue as the RCMAR CC for the next five years. This application proposes that we will: 1) Serve as the hub for the RCMAR national program by facilitating and coordinating trans-RCMAR activities through providing logistical support to RCMARs, 2) Foster communication and promote collaborative activities between RCMAR sites and the NIA, and with a broad and diverse audience of researchers, educators and the community; and 3) Refine and implement our tested evaluation plan for assessing the achievements of the RCMAR program and of the RCMAR CC’s specific aims. We will build on past accomplishments in organizing highly rated meetings and workshops, securing additional resources for cross-site collaborations, linking RCMAR sites to broader networks, effectively disseminating RCMAR accomplishments to other researchers and wider audiences, and building state-of-the-art IT infrastructure to support the program. We will continue to innovate so that the network of RCMARs and Alzheimer’s RCMARs will have a higher impact collectively than the individual centers would alone -- launching researchers on careers that will contribute to new knowledge that will improve the health and well-being of both minority elderly and other older adults.