Texas Minority Health, Research and Outreach (MiHERO)

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Project Summary The long term objective of the Texas Minority Health, Education, Research and Outreach (Texas MiHERO) is to expand the capacity of University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) to enhance research and research training in minority health and health disparities by increasing the number of under-represented students in health disparity research, providing interdisciplinary research and leadership training to junior faculty, and increasing the number of health professional faculty involved in health disparity research. Given the substantial need for physicians, physician scientists, and other health professionals to care for vulnerable populations, and the critical need to study diseases and conditions that disproportionately affect these groups, more efforts are needed to increase the participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds in conducting research on minority health and health disparities, and encouraging them to consider careers in research and related fields. The Texas Center for Health Disparities (TCHD), a NIMHD-Specialized Center of Excellence developed the MiHERO program, through the NIMHD S21 mechanism, to increase health disparity research capacity by increasing the size of the PhD workforce in health disparities, train junior faculty in interdisciplinary research leadership, and provide opportunities for senior investigators to develop research focus in minority health and health disparities. Four priority activities will be conducted under the MiHERO program: • Priority Activity 1: Support an Interdisciplinary Research Leadership (IRL) Program for junior faculty in Minority Health and Health Disparities • Priority Activity 2: Recruit/Retain diverse faculty through a Health Education, Awareness and Research in Disparities Scholarship (HEARD Scholars) program in Minority Health and Health Disparities. • Priority Activity 3: Increase the diversity of the biomedical, behavioral and clinical research workforce by recruiting a new cohort of PhD students from minority and underrepresented groups each year who focus on health disparities. • Priority Activity 4: Develop a mechanism for minority health and health disparity researchers to engage community members in their research. Using the endowment funds secured through this mechanism of funding, we will ensure robust training opportunities are provided that encourage participants of the proposed program to seek careers in research and related field that address the issue of health disparities. The impact of the endowment income will be sustainable programs in Minority Health and Health Disparities, including health disparity curricula for PhD students, a junior faculty development program that can be expanded to faculty from other institutions, and a cadre of health disparity researchers who have active research projects in the area of Minority Health and Health Disparities.