Leadership and Administrative Core

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – LEADERSHIP ADMINISTRATIVE CORE The RCMAR Center for Aging in Diverse Communities (CADC) at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) has been funded continuously since 1997. We have a well-established comprehensive, interdisciplinary program of research and mentoring with broad impact on minority aging research. CADC’s research theme focuses on understanding multilevel social and behavioral mechanisms of health disparities impacting older adults and developing interventions to achieve health equity. CADC’s assets include strong scientific leadership, diverse faculty, and a passionate commitment to achieving health equity among older adults, and to mentoring the next generation of researchers from diverse backgrounds. UCSF's strength as a biomedical research institution attracts substantial numbers of talented early career investigators conducting health disparities/equity research. Over the past 25 years, CADC has closely mentored 99 diverse Scientists from traditionally excluded and underrepresented in research groups (20 in the 2018-2023 cycle), delivering them pilot study funding, training, career development activities, and longitudinal mentoring. Throughout, the Leadership and Administrative Core (LAC) has provided scientific leadership and coordination and fostered a culture of equity and inclusion. In this proposed renewal, the LAC will continue to provide scientific leadership and coordinate and evaluate our Research Education Component (REC) and Analysis Core’s (AnC) robust longitudinal mentoring and research education and training program for diverse early career investigators, while expanding our reach through a newly established affiliation with University of California Merced (UCM), a Hispanic serving institution situated in the rural Central Valley of California, and enhanced and expanded collaborations at UCSF. The aims of the LAC are to: 1) coordinate the internal activities of our REC and AnC, and external activities with other RCMARs and the RCMAR Coordinating Center, sharing our training materials and research resources with the RCMAR Coordinating Center; 2) maintain CADC’s structure, processes, and culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) to effectively mentor CADC Scientists, with guidance from an internal Executive Committee (EC), an External Advisory Committee (EAC), and a Community Advisory Board (CAB); 3) select 3-4 CADC Scientists per year – diverse early investigators from traditionally excluded and underrepresented groups focused on the Center’s research theme – through a rigorous recruitment, review, and selection process in collaboration with the REC; 4) expand joint research and mentoring collaborative activities between CADC and UCM, and between CADC and other UCSF NIA/NIH sponsored centers and programs, and aging-related researchers; 5) evaluate CADC’s mentorship and research education and training program and maintain a system for tracking pilot Scientists through award of independent research funding.