The development of research expertise is a complex process that begins with formal education and continues throughout one's career with self-study, workshops and other professional development activities. For experienced scholars, the Core will provide the opportunity to mentor, strengthen responsible conduct of research skills, and develop research methods and knowledge to address social determinants of health through translatable and transferable research. Further, the proposed Research Training Core will facilitate the professional development of Junior Faculty, predoctoral, masters and undergraduate trainees by providing the fundamental research training required to develop health disparities researchers;assist in the translation of research knowledge into the development and implementation of effective interventions for communities with health disparities;and enhance the development of studies, methods, measures, and systems addressing social determinants of health and health disparities. The impact of a mentoring relationship on successful attainment of career goals has received increasing recognition in recent years. Mentorship offers tangible benefits, such as expert individualized critique of work, and less tangible benefits, such as endorsed opportunities to network with senior people in the field. The mentoring relationship offers benefits to both mentor and mentee, including inspiration and fresh ideas, personal fulfillment, opportunities for collaboration, transdisciplinary strategies, and developing skills for team work. It is well documented that racial and ethnic minorities with a health disparities background are underrepresented as research scientists. Therefore, it is imperative that we train minority scholars in the area of health disparities research, for several reasons: (1) racial and ethnic minority health care professionals are significantly more likely than their white peers to serve minority and medically underserved communities, thereby helping to improve problems of limited minority access to care (HP2020;Institute of Medicine, 2004; US DHHS, 2008);(2) diversity in health professional training settings assists in efforts to improve the crosscultural training and cultural competencies of all trainees;(3) interaction among students from diverse backgrounds in training settings helps students to challenge assumptions and broaden perspectives regarding racial, ethnic and cultural differences;(4) minority scientist and researchers bring a wide range of cultural perspectives and experiences to research teams, which increases the likelihood that social determinants and cultural issues influencing health outcomes will be addressed in the research design and study questions (lOM, WHO);and (5) minority investigators have proven valuable in increasing the number of minorities recruited to participate in research. Thus, developing a program that recruits and prepares minorities in research is imperative in narrowing the health disparities gaps. The proposed program will foster the lifelong learning of experienced scholars and the development of junior faculty members, pre-doctoral candidates, and masters and undergraduate students to conduct health disparities research by mentorship and tailored educational and practical experiences. Level-appropriate capacity-building training courses and workshops will be held. By doing so, this program will facilitate the development of health disparity researchers, per the RFA priority, the legislation authorizing the Centers of Excellence, recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of Medicine, Pew Commission on Health Professions, Sullivan Report, Health Resources and Services Administration, and NIH. The Research Training Core consists of several activities: Junior Faculty Trainee, Predoctoral Trainee, Masters Trainee, Undergraduate Trainee, Visiting Lecturers/Experts, and Responsible Conduct of Research, Social Determinants of Health and Special Trainings.
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