This section describes the Research Core component of the application to establish an Exploratory NCMHD Research Center at Arizona State University (ASU). The Research Core's mission is to address knowledge gaps on the role of cultural processes and other fundamental causes of disease in the creation, reduction and elimination of health disparities in HIV/AIDS, mental health, and substance abuse. This core will conduct sustained, coordinated, programmatic, and thematically linked research by relying on its interdisciplinary expertise and addressing the needs of the local community. The Core will advance knowledge on health disparities by enhancing the Center's conceptual and methodological expertise to conduct the highest quality scientific research to promote minority health and reduce health disparities through culturally appropriate prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, mental health, and substance abuse. The Core will establish and sustain research activities to meet five strategic goals: (1) Coordinate, develop and strengthen the expertise of Center participants regarding the cultural processes underlying health disparities in HIV/AIDS, mental health, and substance abuse prevention and treatment among populations of the Southwest;(2) Establish and maintain a research infrastructure that builds conceptual, methodological and statistical capacity for health disparities research in the identified emphasis areas;(3) Maintain ongoing mechanisms for disseminating the Center's research findings to the public, agencies and the scientific community;(4) Provide and coordinate research expertise and resources for the Center's Research, Education and Training Core;(5) Collaborate with community partners to generate new health disparities research questions and initiatives, ensuring that the research agenda and methods reflect community needs and priorities as well as the best science. The Core will include faculty serving as Research Director and as Methodologists, as well as a Research Coordinator and Graduate Research Assistants. The Research Core will be linked to an International Scientific Advisory Board for expertise and guidance on its research agenda, ,v and will follow a participatory action research approach and will actively involve local communities and stakeholders in research generation, design, execution, analysis and dissemination.
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