Research Education Component

项目摘要-研究教育部分

Project Summary – Research Education Component The overwhelming burden of suffering, disability, and years of life lost due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (AD/ADRD) represent a global crisis. Hispanic Americans are at higher risk for AD/ADRD and less likely to receive care and participate in research and service efforts designed to decrease health disparities in AD/ADRD than their non-Hispanic White counterparts. This is particularly evident among Hispanic Americans residing in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), an area classified as persistent poverty and medically underserved, where the prevalence of dementia is among the highest in the country. Reaching and studying this population requires culturally-attuned and appropriately-trained investigators who are prepared to advance social, behavioral, and community-engaged research with translational impact. There is an equally great concomitant need to diversify the AD/ADRD research workforce, increasing representation of members of the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, cultures and beliefs, including underserved communities, that make up the American people. The AD/ADRD-RCMAR’s Research Education Component (REC) at the University of Texas RGV (UTRGV) puts into place a comprehensive research education program with two overarching objectives: 1) to prepare a diverse body of early-career junior faculty to grow into enduring careers as successful research scientists, and 2) to contribute in an impactful way to the body of knowledge on health disparities in AD/ADRD among the growing US Hispanic population, particularly aging Mexican Americans, along the Texas-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. The REC will leverage the research expertise and resources of experienced, successful, interdisciplinary investigators and leaders in these fields to achieve the following specific aims: (1) Identify and support innovative pilot projects, focused on social or behavioral problems, aspects, or correlates of AD/ADRD in minority populations. (2) Support the continued development of pilot project grant recipients as researchers. (3) Provide training in grant preparation, administration, and budgeting. (4) Provide a series of didactics/seminars on: a) Health disparities research survey; b) AD/ADRD-RCMAR Cores and key unique research resources and their potential application to AD/ADRD health disparities research; c) AD/ADRD research in Texas; and d) responsible conduct of research. (5) Provide continued mentoring. To accomplish these goals, we have built a leadership team with extensive experience in research education, planning and evaluation of mentoring, and leadership of collaborative interdisciplinary research efforts aimed at improving minorities' and Hispanics' health in targeted geographic populations, and we have accounted for all needed administrative and logistic support. Trainees and mentees will engage in and benefit from a rich immersive experience in developing collaborative research addressing social and behavioral contributors to AD/ADRD and its impacts in the poverty-stricken, primarily Hispanic US-Mexico border region of the RGV.