Five years of funding is requested to support an award-winning minority undergraduate honor students in a Prevention Science Training Program in mental health. The program provides educational and structured research experiences with the primary aim of moving these students into advanced degree programs with a prevention science focus. This is an interdisciplinary program with students being drawn from biology, education, psychology, and social work. The training program is unique because similar training vehicles usually occur at the graduate level when it becomes more difficult to recruit minority students. The training program includes: 1) Two academic research assistantships/field work; 2) An 8-week summer research training experience; 3) academic coursework; and 4) career development and information dissemination. Core faculty affiliates from the Departments of Psychology, Social Work, Education, Biology and Public Health at Morgan State University will serve as faculty advisors and will assist in teaching courses in prevention science. Other faculty members from Johns Hopkins University will serve as research preceptors to trainees and guest lecturers in prevention science courses. Research preceptors are conducting a variety of preventive intervention studies with an emphasis on mental health issues in minority communities. The program will be governed by a steering committee responsible for aiding in the development of curricula, helping with recruitment and selection of trainees, and establishing and monitoring collaborative educational and training agreements with intra and inter university entities. The committee is made up of Morgan State University deans, department chairs, and directors of two prevention research centers. A process and outcome evaluation of the program's success will be conducted to assess program strengths and weaknesses, assure program quality, and track trainee progress (e.g., entrance into graduate school). ? ?
