Research Education Core

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The Research Education Component (REC) of the Deep South RCMAR is designed to recruit, educate, and support a diverse group of faculty at our four partnering institutions (Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), Tuskegee University (TU), The University of Alabama (UA) and The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The focus is to Mentor junior faculty to achieve enduring research careers focused on reducing health disparities between Black African Americans (B/AA) and White older adults in the Deep South (a region of the country where the majority of older B/AAs live, and health disparities have been particularly persistent). This long- term collaboration between institutions that vary greatly in their respective cultures, research emphases, infrastructure, and faculty backgrounds will increases the pool of faculty applicants to the program. Each partnering institution brings unique strengths to the RCMAR. The benefits of collaboration for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) include exposure to more senior researchers with extensive research portfolios available to serve as Program Mentors. The strengths of the HBCUs to the collaboration include a pool of faculty experienced in cultural sensitivity who are committed to aging research leading to the reduction of health inequities. Additionally, TU brings unique strength in bioethics, a key component for scientists interested in addressing health disparities in the Deep South. The overall goals of the REC are to: (1) build research capacity and increase the diversity of the research workforce, (2) Mentor our Scientists by providing opportunities for them to work on interdisciplinary teams, exposing them to the methodologies and theories of other scientific disciplines pertinent to the study of age-related phenomena, 3) support our Scientists in pursuing independent careers in aging and health disparities research through ongoing Mentoring, and (4) build research capacity through funding for pilot grants and assistance in the submission of future competitive research projects. To insure the success of the REC, we will draw from a large pool of established Mentors at all partner institutions. We will evaluate the program through various indicators of Scientist career independence including publications, successful grant applications, promotions, and service in the academic community (e.g., editorial board memberships, participation on study sections). In these ways, the REC will help diversify the cadre of scientists engaged in aging research, with the ultimate goal of reducing health inequities in the older population. Through improving the diversity of scientists trained in this area of research, the expectation is that global competitiveness will be improved, scientific innovation will be enhanced, and older adults will benefit.