The goal of the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus Extramural Associate (UPRMSC-EA) program is to enhance the participation of faculty and students in biomedical and behavioral research to help achieve the Healthy People 2010 objectives of health promotion and disease prevention. The specific objectives of this project are to: develop the infrastructure to provide scientific support to the faculty and students in the grant application and contract proposal development phase of research; design and implement activities to develop and improve the grantsmanship and the scientific writing skills of the faculty and students; develop strategies to facilitate the communication among the research community; provide funds for interdisciplinary pilot studies; and strengthen and increase collaborative partnerships between the Medical Sciences Campus and other intensive research institutions at the local, national and international level. To achieve its goals, the UPRMSC-EA program will be integrated into the Office of Contracts, External Funds and Financial Administration (OCFA), and will work in coordination with the Deanships, and the Research Centers and Programs, at the Medical Sciences Campus (MSC). An advisory committee integrated by representatives of the six schools, RCMI, OCFA, and the University of Kentucky will contribute to the effective achievement of the objectives of the institutional plan. The goal will be sustainable in terms of an integrated residency of a faculty member at NIH which will enable the participant to: enhance the administrative support for the development of research proposals, improve the research culture among the faculty and students, and increase research collaboration with other institutions. The program is expected to impact the Medical Sciences Campus by increasing the number of faculty conducting research, the number of scientific publications and presentations, and the number of grants and proposals submitted and awarded. These outcomes in turn are expected to reduce health disparities and increase the quality and years of healthy life.
