The Mid-South Coalition for Minority Health International Research Training (the Coalition)was established in 2000 to provide internationalresearch trainingopportunitiesto qualified minoritystudents underrepresented in biomedicaland behavioral research careers. This is a competingrenewal applicationfrom Christian Brothers University (CBU) in Memphis,TN, the lead institution of the Coalition. The Mid-SouthCoalition includes faculty at CBU, St.Jude Children'sResearch Hospital (SJCRH), and three other Memphis universities: LeMoyne-Owen College, a Historically Black College;Rhodes College, a private liberal arts college;and the Universityof Memphis, a state institution. Tennessee State University(TSU), a Historically Black Universityin Nashville, TN,also has a participating faculty member. The Coalition primarilyrecruits trainees from its member institutionsand other schools in the Mid-South area, but also solicits applicants nationwide through the program's web site. Through academic programs in their home institutions, students acquire the basic skills needed to conduct research and become eligible to participate in a research project in Brazil or Uganda. Research addresses problems inherent to health care in minority and rural populations in the U.S. and in developing.countries.Depending on their .: interests, students participate in clinical, qualitative, or laboratory research settings. Previouslyfunded projects in Uganda have investigated the educational programs on malaria transmission, access to health care and psychosocial treatment for childrenaffected by the war in NorthernUganda. Projects in Brazil have included research on anxeity disorders, visual function, environmentalpollution/andpediatric screening for adrenocarcinoma. The program's primary mission is to provide minoritystudents with an opportunityto participate in internationalresearch that potentially impacts the health care of underserved populations in those countries, with an applicationto health care in the US. This program enhances the educationalexperienceof and expand the perceived career options for minoritystudents. This program also encourages desimination of aquired research data at nationalmeetings, and fosters continuationin graduate programs. The students are provided with specialized training that allows them to be competitive in todays global community.
'"""""""" This program has a direct impact on the health of individuals through: education on malaria, data that assisted the formation of a clinic in Uganda, expansion of health care for adolescents in Mae Sot, Thailand, giving children in Northern Uganda hope through art, providing health care linked with carnivore conservation in Brazil and assisting in screening and thereby potentially curing adrenocarcinoma in newborns in Curitiba.
