The success of the scientific community?s ongoing efforts to enhance health outcomes for health disparities populations depends greatly on our investment in inspiring and developing a new generation of scientists who work creatively on these important, complex public health problems over the coming years. Accordingly, we propose to establish an Investigator Development Core (IDC) that will enhance the scientific impact of this newly proposed Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) at the University of Houston (UH) by identifying and providing opportunities, support, and mentoring for the next generation of researchers to pursue bold and groundbreaking research addressing disparities in addictions and cancer prevention. The IDC?s primary feature is a Pilot Grant Program that will fund 3-5 seed awards annually to support innovative projects addressing disparities in addictions and cancer prevention. We will actively solicit applications on these critical scientific topics from the UH academic community, encouraging and mentoring investigators from underrepresented backgrounds to participate in this program. The IDC has a rigorous shaping, evaluation, review, and funding process that will ensure the pilot grants comply with Federal requirements and help postdoctoral fellows and assistant professors leverage these resources to support their emerging programs of research in health-equity science. To that end, pilot applicants and investigators will also receive hands-on mentoring to generate a new pipeline of health disparities researchers from communities underrepresented in the health sciences. The long-term goal of the IDC is to leverage innovative pilot grants and hands-on mentorship that support opportunities for postdoctoral fellows and assistant professors to secure career awards or developmentally appropriate research grants that facilitate their pathway towards independence. The IDC will facilitate and enhance the innovation of the RCMI by serving as a unique research resource in the region that will enhance local and national workforce development in minority health and health disparities.
