Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR)

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Project Summary/Abstract The Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) is designed to increase both the number and diversity of investigators with the capacity to conduct independent research related to minority aging and health disparities. We are a research-based, mentoring partnership of four academic institutions: The University of Alabama at Birmingham, The University of Alabama, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Tuskegee University working together to recruit minority investigators, provide education in aging and health disparities research, guide career development through collaborative mentoring, and sustain progress to successful, independent research careers. The research focus of the Deep South RCMAR is on reducing health disparities between Black/African American (B/AA) and White older adults in the Deep South, the region of the country where the majority of older B/AAs live and health disparities have been particularly persistent. We focus on health problems particularly prevalent among older B/AAs in our region and for which disparities have been identified in both rural and urban settings. Our specific aims are to: (1) identify, engage, and mentor outstanding faculty under-represented in academia who are committed to academic careers in aging and health disparities research; (2) provide high quality research education and individualized career development support; (3) support innovative, high impact pilot projects that will advance the science of minority aging and health disparities; (4) provide expertise and resources for working collaboratively with communities in areas of interest to them and in the recruitment and retention of older B/AAs in research; (5) provide expertise and resources for study design, culturally sensitive measurement, data analysis, and access to databases for secondary analysis; and (6) disseminate to scientific, professional and lay audiences research results addressing the reduction of health disparities through the improvement of minority health, particularly for older B/AAs. We propose continuation and enhancements of the cores established during the first three funding cycles: the Research Education Component, the Leadership and Administrative Core, the Analysis Core, and the Community Liaison and Recruitment Core. Over the next five years, we will fund at least 15 pilot projects; provide research education through our inter-disciplinary Health Disparities Research Education Program; and assist RCMAR Scientists to obtain career development or independent research grants. With renewal of the Deep South RCMAR, we also propose innovations in each core to enhance our overall program effectiveness in recruiting minority investigators, providing education in aging and heath disparities research, guiding career development through collaborative mentoring, and sustaining their progress to successful, independent research careers. In these ways, the RCMAR will enhance the size and diversity of the scientific workforce advancing the science of minority aging and health disparities in the Deep South.