Disparities Elimination Summer Research Experience (DESRE): An Intensive Summer Research Training Program to Promote Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce

The Disparities Elimination Summer Research Experience (DESRE) was created to provide hands-on health equity research training opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students, particularly those from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research. Funded by NIH’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a total of 22 students participated in 4 annual cycles of an intensive, 6-week, full-time, residential research training program consisting of didactics, community immersion experiences, peer mentoring, ethics training, and hands-on health disparities research. Demand for the program was high; by the 4th year of implementation, more than 500 applications were received for the cohort’s six slots. More than half of DESRE participants came from minority-serving institutions and/or identified as a member of a minority group. Students reported a significant increase in self-reported competency across all of the program’s 26 learning objectives from pre- to post-assessment. Further, the program had a 77% success rate in promoting a career in biomedical research and/or health disparities elimination, including 100% of minority participants either entering a graduate program and/or entering careers focused on health equity. Key success factors and lessons learned are discussed. Ethn Dis.2020;30(1):47-54; doi:10.18865/ed.30.1.47

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Development and evaluation of a community-engaged research training program: Building capacity of Marshallese stakeholders and academic researchers to conduct health research

Gateways International Journal of Community Research and Engagement ◽

10.5130/ijcre.v12i1.6198 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Pearl A McElfish ◽

Brett Rowland ◽

Britni L Ayers ◽

Gail E O'Connor ◽

Rachel S Purvis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Disparities ◽

Training Program ◽

Participatory Research ◽

Research Training ◽

Pacific Islanders ◽

Community Engaged Research ◽

Community Stakeholders ◽

Obesity And Diabetes ◽

Academic Researchers ◽

Research Training Program

Pacific Islanders are a growing, yet understudied population who suffer from high rates of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Given the historical trauma experienced by Pacific Islanders, community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an appropriate way to conduct research focused on reducing the health disparities observed in this population. This paper presents the process of engaging the Marshallese community to design, conduct, and evaluate a community-engaged research training program. The goal of the program was to build the capacity of both academic researchers and community stakeholders to conduct CBPR for the purpose of addressing health disparities identified and prioritized by the Marshallese community. The program included both didactic training and experiential mentored research components delivered over a period of two years. Eleven Marshallese community stakeholders and eleven academic researchers participated in the program. Results indicated that the program successfully increased participants’ knowledge regarding the CBPR process. Groups of participants have completed exploratory research projects based on the topics identified by the community. The evaluation adds important insights to the current CBPR training literature and can inform future CBPR trainings. Keywordscommunity-based participatory research, community-engaged research, Pacific Islanders, minority health, health disparities, interprofessional training

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Training LEADers to Accelerate Global Mental Health Disparities Research (LEAD) Program: A Research Training Program Protocol

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.749627 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Ozge Sensoy Bahar ◽

Patricia Cavazos-Rehg ◽

Fred M. Ssewamala ◽

Betsy Abente ◽

Laura Peer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Disparities ◽

Training Program ◽

Doctoral Students ◽

Research Training ◽

Global Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Disparities ◽

Low Resource ◽

Diverse Backgrounds ◽

Research Training Program

Background: There is a critical need to address mental health needs across the globe, especially in low and middle-income countries where mental health disparities are pervasive, including among children. The global mental health disparities suggest an imperative for culturally and contextually-congruent mental health services models that expand upon the existing services and interventions for these groups. Rigorous research is a key tool in providing the scientific evidence to inform public policy and practice efforts to effectively address these needs. Yet, there is a limited number of researchers, especially those from diverse backgrounds, who study these issues. In this paper, we describe the “TrainingLEADers to Accelerate Global Mental Health Disparities Research” (LEAD) program, a research training program funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and focused on global mental health disparities research for early career researchers from under-represented minority groups.Methods: The LEAD program is designed as a two-phase training program for advanced pre-doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty from diverse backgrounds in the U.S., including groups underrepresented in biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences research, interested in global mental health disparities research. Trainees are matched with mentors and participate in an intensive 12-week program.Discussion: The LEAD program seeks to provide a robust platform for the development, implementation and expansion of evidence-based culturally and contextually-congruent interventions and services models addressing global mental health disparities across the life cycle, especially in low-resource communities in the global context. By producing a sustainable network of well-trained investigators from underrepresented backgrounds, LEAD will potentially contribute to the shared lessons and efforts relevant to addressing global mental health disparities and improving care for vulnerable populations in low-resource settings.

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Supporting Biomedical Research Training for Historically Underrepresented Undergraduates Using Interprofessional, Nonformal Education Structures

Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning ◽

10.14434/josotl.v21i1.30430 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Lisa K. Marriott ◽

Aaron Raz Link ◽

Roberto P Anitori ◽

Ernest A Blackwell ◽

Andrea Blas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Training Program ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Biomedical Research ◽

Research Training ◽

Undergraduate Research ◽

Skills Training ◽

Research Network ◽

Research Experience ◽

Program Support ◽

Research Training Program

Research experience provides critical training for new biomedical research scientists. Students from underrepresented populations studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are increasingly recruited into research pathways to diversify STEM fields. However, support structures outside of research settings designed to help these students navigate biomedical research pathways are not always available; nor are program support components outside the context of laboratory technical skills training and formal mentorship well understood. This study leveraged a multi-institutional research training program, Enhancing Cross-Disciplinary Infrastructure and Training at Oregon (EXITO), to explore how nine institutions designed a new curricular structure (Enrichment) to meet a common goal of enhancing undergraduate research training and student success. EXITO undergraduates participated in a comprehensive, 3-year research training program with the Enrichment component offered across nine sites: three universities and six community colleges, highly diverse in size, demographics, and location. Sites’ approaches to supporting students in the training program were studied over a 30-month period. All sites independently created their own nonformal curricular structures, implemented interprofessionally via facilitated peer groups. Site data describing design and implementation were thematically coded to identify essential programmatic components across sites, with student feedback used to triangulate findings. Enrichment offered students time to critically reflect on their interests, experiences, and identities in research; network with peers and professionals; and support negotiation of hidden and implicit curricula. Students reported the low-pressure setting and student-centered curriculum balanced the high demands associated with academics and research. Core curricular themes described Enrichment as fostering a sense of community among students, exposing students to career paths and skills, and supporting development of students’ professional identities. The non-formal, interprofessional curricula enabled students to model diverse biomedical identities and pathways for each other while informing institutional structures to improve diverse undergraduate students’ success in academia and research.

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NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.22.6.1205 ◽

1958 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 1205-1205

Keyword(s):

Training Program ◽

Academic Career ◽

Research Training ◽

National Institutes Of Health ◽

Annual Review ◽

Full Time ◽

Research And Teaching ◽

School Of Medicine ◽

Research Training Program ◽

Individual Needs

The Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, announces establishment of a research training program with the collaboration of members of the staffs of the Departments of Biochemistry, Pathology, Anatomy, and Medicine. The program is limited to graduates with the M.D. degree, who are interested in a full-time academic career of research and teaching. Traineeships, supported by the National Institutes of Health, are for a minimum of 2 years, subject to annual review, and carry stipends up to $6,000 a year dependent upon individual needs.

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