The Texas Resource Center on Minority Aging Research (RCMAR)

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This is an application to renew the Texas RCMAR, initially funded in 2018 based at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston with the University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin) as a collaborating institution. A major innovation of the proposed RCMAR’s second cycle is that we will use a Multiple PI arrangement, and partner with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), a Hispanic Serving Institution. We propose to maintain the organizational structure of two Cores: Leadership and Administration (LAC) and Analysis Core (AnC), in addition to the Research Education Component (REC). The overall RCMAR leaders serve as leaders of the LAC as well. The other components have leaders from both UTMB and UTSA. UT-Austin will remain an affiliated institution, contributing in particular with REC activities for networking and program dissemination. The Texas RCMAR’s objectives, and the affiliated faculty expertise and proposed mentoring program, are consistent with the NIA Health Disparities Research Framework. The Aims of the Texas RCMAR overall, as described in the three components are: Create the infrastructure to support rigorous research in behavioral and social research on aging and health disparities in older adults, with an emphasis on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); Support the AnC and REC in their mentoring, education, and research activities; Evaluate Center progress toward continuous improvement; Provide measurement, statistical, and methodological support for pilot research projects; Collect, disseminate, maintain, and update infrastructure on sources of data relevant to minority aging, and measurements of social determinants of health to all Texas RCMAR investigators and Scientists; Develop, present, and disseminate instruction in advanced analytical methods for our Scientists and other affiliates; Identify, recruit, and retain RCMAR Scientists, qualified candidates who have the potential to develop successful careers in minority aging and health disparities consistent with the mission and theme of the Texas RCMAR; Create and monitor an Individualized Career Development Plan for each Scientist; and Implement and monitor a Structured Program of Mentoring and Research Education, with activities targeted for the scientists in the program. We have assembled a group of multidisciplinary faculty who will form the Mentoring teams of the RCMAR Scientists, representing social and behavioral sciences as well as epidemiological and biomedical sciences. We will leverage our existing resources including from P30’s, K12, KL2, and individual R01’s to support the program of activities. The Texas RCMAR theme of migration, aging, and health draws on multidisciplinary strengths, and the combined expertise of the RCMAR participating faculty, including long-standing large population-based longitudinal studies that support Hispanic aging research, and a goal to incorporate in-depth measures and approaches to contribute to research on aging of minority populations. UTMB and UTSA have a long tradition of training under-represented scholars and will now collaborate to expand the impact and reach of the Texas RCMAR.