UC San Diego RAPID Faculty Development Program in Infectious Diseases

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Abstract Enhancing the diversity of the biomedical workforce is important for improving educational experiences, fostering scientific discovery and innovation, enhancing the benefit of research on health disparity populations and increasing public trust. While academic institutions have an important role in this goal, diversifying the faculty ranks has been the least successful of all diversity initiatives. The overall goal of the UC San Diego Faculty Development Program in Infectious Diseases (FDP-ID) termed Raising Advancement and Parity for Infectious Disease Researchers (RAPID) is to enhance the diversity of the biomedical research workforce. The UC San Diego RAPID program will provide effective mentorship, courses to develop critical academic skills and experiences to enhance success of research programs focused on infectious diseases and success in obtaining extramural funding. RAPID will recruit underrepresented early career academics including junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows that have secured an initial faculty position from a national pool to participate in professional and research development activities in a visiting scholar program at UC San Diego. The RAPID program is directed by two principal investigators (PIs) and three co-investigators (co-Is) from the UC San Diego School of Medicine with extensive experience in mentoring and training postdoctoral fellows, residents and junior faculty and success in creating and implementing career development and mentoring programs specifically for underrepresented early career academics. The PIs / co-Is have successfully led extramurally-funded training programs; four of the five PIs are actively engaged in NIH-sponsored infectious diseases research; four of the PIs are from backgrounds underrepresented in the biomedical workforce. The specific objectives of the UCSD RAPID program are to enhance the diversity of the biomedical workforce by providing early career academics from underrepresented racial / ethnic, women and disabled groups with critical academic skills to enhance their success in developing research programs focused on infectious diseases. We propose three specific aims. Aim 1. To increase the diversity of the biomedical workforce by recruiting underrepresented early career academics (junior faculty and transitioning postdoctoral fellows) from local and national pools who have infectious diseases scientific expertise aligned with those of our research mentors. Aim 2. To enhance professional skill development and effective mentorship of participants by utilizing evidence-based strategies including a faculty research and career advancement plan, mentoring teams and by improving knowledge and skills in various professional development areas important for research success. Aim 3. To promote research training and research self- efficacy of early career academics in infectious diseases research knowledge, skills and strategies through immersion in activities in the mentees area of interest in infectious disease. RAPID includes PIs /co-Is with extensive experience in faculty and URM trainee development, a strong cohort of UC San Diego senior faculty researchers and career mentors from underrepresented backgrounds.