University of Miami Developmental HIV/AIDS Mental Health Research Center (D-ARC)

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Project Summary Developmental Core B The overarching objective of the Developmental (Dev) Core for the University of Miami (UM) D-ARC is to build and sustain the pipeline of investigators pursuing mental health (MH) HIV research that can mitigate the disparities experienced by racial/ethnic, sexual, and gender minority populations in South Florida, a US HIV/AIDS epicenter. Consistent with the theme of the D-ARC, our efforts will be focused on promoting community-engaged research to reduce MH and minority health disparities across the HIV prevention and care continua. The work of the Dev Core will be crucial to capitalizing on our success over the past three years in recruiting six new faculty members at the University of Miami with expertise in MH HIV research. The pilot awards program will support the efforts of UM D-ARC investigators to pursue community- engaged, MH HIV research focused on mitigating health disparities in South Florida. The Core will guide investigators, especially Early Stage Investigators (ESIs), in pre-submission consultations with the Methods Core on research design and analysis and the MH Disparities Core on community-engaged approaches. The Dev Core will coordinate competitive review of each pilot award that includes a community reviewer in addition to two scientific reviewers. We will systematically track the progress of pilot awardees in pursuing extramural funding and support those who are not selected to receive pilot award funds to revise their proposals. A comprehensive mentoring program will anchor our efforts to support ESI career development in MH HIV research. The Dev Core’s Mentoring Advisory Committee will oversee comprehensive mentoring of ESIs, guiding them in assembling a multi-disciplinary mentoring team and developing individualized development plans (IDPs). The Dev Core also will contribute to and facilitate access of ESIs to ongoing career development and grant writing workshops conducted by the Miami Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), the UM Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), and Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities (CLaRO). The Dev Core will implement activities to maximize success of all D-ARC scientists in conducting rigorous research. Pre-submission peer reviews of works in progress (e.g., grants, manuscripts) will accelerate the pace of cutting-edge MH HIV research in our D-ARC. An annual writing retreat will create opportunities for iterative peer reviews of scientific works in progress. Targeted Action Groups will cultivate synergies with CFAR scientists to build interdisciplinary collaborations relevant to MH HIV research. The interdisciplinary Dev Core leadership is crucial to the success of the overall mission and scientific aims of the first D-ARC in the Southeastern US in supporting community-engaged MH HIV research that builds upon the 25 year legacy of bio-behavioral MH HIV research and training at UM. Through careful coordination with other D-ARC cores, the Dev Core will provide crucial resources to reinvigorate MH HIV research in a region that is among the most heavily affected by the epidemic.