Short-Term Training in Cardiovascular Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this "Short-Term Training Program to Increase Diversity in Health Related Research" (R25) is to stimulate career development in cardiovascular research among health professional student populations at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the Mississippi delta region of the United States. The Lower Mississippi Delta Region, a 219-country strip along the Mississippi River in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee is populated by approximately 8.3 million people, including a large percentage of low income people, African American descent, and with growing numbers of other people of color. The strength of this project stems from a sustained and shared commitment among the collaborators, including faculty from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, GRECC VA Boston HealthCare System, Hebrew Senior Life, and Tufts University, and faculty from resource-intensive HBCUs (North Carolina A&T, Southern University at Baton Rouge, Morehouse School of Medicine), as well as faculty from small, and private HBCUs that lack infrastructure for research (Grambling State Univeristy, Mississippi Valley State Univeristy, Alcorn State University, Rust College). We propose four specific aims: 1) to provide mentored, short-term research experience to under-represented health professional students from the participating HBCUs; 2) to promote educational experiences and activities that will enhance students' academic communication and networking skills; 3) to facilitate the development of a sustained network for contacts and information that will help these students to overcome historical barriers to access that have often served to limit entry and success in the research enterprise; and, 4) to evaluate the success of the program in meeting both short term and long term objectives. It is our strong belief that this project will significantly enlarge the "pipeline" of trainees from the participating HBCUs who pursue careers as independent investigators. These investigators will be capable of making substantial contributions toward understanding and eliminating health disparities, with a specific focus on reducing the impact of social, environmental, and behavioral determinants of cardiovascular health status on African-Americans living in the Lower Mississippi Delta region of the United States. The purpose of this proposal is to support research training to minority medical students and graduate students in public health in order to encourage them to pursue careers committed to the reduction of health disparities in cardiovascular disease. (End of Abstract)