AGA FORWARD PROGRAM - Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity

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PROJECT ABSTRACT The pipeline of physician-scientists from underrepresented populations in the biomedical workforce remains leaky. In gastroenterology, only 4 percent of academic faculty are African American, and 6 percent are Hispanic/Latinx. American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian physicians represent less than 0.2 percent of all academic faculty positions. These numbers are significantly lower than the representation of these groups within the overall U.S. population. A 2020 survey conducted by the Intersociety Group for Diversity, a working group of representatives from five digestive disease professional associations including the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), illustrated that the primary impediment to success for physician-scientists from underrepresented populations remains a lack of effective and accessible mentoring. AGA has a long and successful record of professional development programs designed to improve the diversity of the research workforce in gastroenterology. AGA has implemented NIDDK-funded programs to promote the recruitment and retention of underrepresented physician-scientists in gastroenterology since 2001. Our current program, FORWARD began in 2018 and has demonstrated success in advancing the diversity of the biomedical workforce with a focus on research skills development, leadership skills development, and effective mentoring. This competitive renewal application, FORWARD 2.0, proposes to leverage the successes of the original program with an enhanced focus on 1) manuscript writing and grant-writing training for both program alumni and current cohorts with tracks specific to NIH K or R01 grant writing, 2) leadership development and support focused on training and transitioning alumni and current cohort participants to assume leadership positions within AGA's professional society committee structures and academic medicine and 3) intensive mentoring from an expanded team of mentors, including senior mentors, home institution mentors and near-peer mentors, and using mobile app-based mentoring technology.