The long-term objective of the CEH is to provide a scientific infrastructure to support research that addresses important environmental and public health issues of concern to vulnerable and underserved communities. To accomplish this objective, we have made the overarching goal of this RCMI application the development of a more comprehensive biomedical research infrastructure to strengthen the capacity to conduct environmental health and health disparities research at Jackson State University (JSU). Toward that end, we propose the following specific aims: (1) To increase the overall research productivity of faculty in the area of environmental health as measured by the number of publications, patents and presentations, and the number and grants submitted and funded by NIH and/or other agencies. We propose to address this aim through implementation of relevant career development activities, including mentoring, scientific advising, faculty portfolio development, grantsmanship and scientific writing workshops, biomedical seminars and conferences participation, adequate release time for biomedical research, and timely assessment of progress;(2) To further enhance the environment for conducting cutting-edge environmental health and health disparities research. To achieve this aim we propose to: a) recruit a senior investigator to lead the scientific aspects of the RCMI Program and mentor junior faculty;b) develop multi-user core facilities, providing access to major instrumentation;c) provide training on the use of specialized equipment;d) implement standard operating procedures and policies;and e) monitor facilities utilization and core productivity;(3) To foster opportunities for T1 and T2 translational research. We propose to facilitate expansion of CEH activities in support of intra- and inter-institutional biomedical research collaborations through formal interactions with JSU School of Health Science (SHS), and utilization of the RCMI Translational Research Network (RTRN). To achieve this aim, we propose to: a) provide a joint appointment (between the CSET and the SHS) to the senior investigator who will be hired, b) develop a framework for submission of supplemental pilot projects from the SHS, and c) integrate CEH activities into the RTRN by fully utilizing the RTRN-Data Technology Coordinating Center as a platform to increase tights with other RCMI centers, as well as other institutions of higher learning and national laboratories;and (4) To increase the number of investigators conducting research important in addressing environmental health and health disparities issues. We propose to support four pilot projects by junior investigators who will be teamed with mentors and advisors to assist them with the technical and scientific aspects of their projects, as well as to oversee their career development. As these faculty graduate from the program by gaining external funding, other faculty will be added based on the External Advisory Committee recommendations. Hence, the CEH proposes to develop and implement a new plan that takes advantage of the NIH-NCRR support to modernize its biomedical research infrastructure, and to establish a strong foundation for capacity building that would increase the competitiveness of JSU into mainstream environmental health and health disparities programs funded by the NIH. Additional support is critical for the effective implementation of important CEH activities, as the University embarks into pre-eminence in biomedical research and education.
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