We request funds to continue and expand our very successful M-RISP. Our goal is still to enhance the capacity of SDSU to conduct mental health research that is responsive to NIMH priorities and that leads to applications that can be funded through RO1 and R03 mechanisms. We are dedicated to promoting and supporting high quality mental health research, focused on ethnic disparities. Faculty obtain release time, funded through the M-RISP and matched by the university, through an intramural research competition. Several minority students are supported and assist the faculty. A systematic and extensive plan for educating both M-RISP faculty and students about high quality mental health research is proposed, with the help of collaborators from UCSD. Support for faculty presentations of their research findings will be made available, a brown bag will be established so faculty can receive feedback about their research ideas before implementation, and biostatistical consulting, mentoring, and a mental health colloquium series are included. These activities will 1) increase research collaborations among faculty members at SDSU and research-intensive institutions;2) establish national and international faculty networks for mental health research;3) increase the number of faculty members who seek and obtain RO1-level extramural funding;and 4) increase faculty research productivity, as demonstrated by peer-reviewed presentations and publications. The number of ethnic minority investigators who conduct research to address the NIMH priorities and who become funded by NIMH will increase. In addition, three Independent Investigator projects associated with the M-RISP core are proposed. They include: studies examining the effects of marital satisfaction on mental health, the impact of national identification on the mental health of minorities, and the coping strategies employed by minority adolescents and their effects on mental health. All of the independent investigators address current NIMH priorities, and their research is relevant to public health because it will increase the understanding of ethnic differences in the causes and cures of mental health problems. Interventions tailored to help minorities overcome their unique barriers to receiving treatment can be designed better as a result of the proposed research. SDSU will integrate the Career Opportunities in Research (COR) Program withM-RISP.
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