The proposed Research Training/Education Core consists of programs and activities directed at increasing the number of students from underrepresented minority groups, who participate in biomedical and public health educational programs and applied research training experiences related to health disparities. Consistent with the proposed focus ofthe Research Core, the research training programs will focus specifically in the area of Women's Health Disparities. Working through the existing Texas Center for Health Disparities (TCHD) infrastructure, the specific aims ofthe Research Training/Education Core are: 1) to support the professional development of faculty and community stakeholders in health disparities research and (2) to enhance health disparities research opportunities for URM undergraduate students. The TCHD sponsors a successful fellowship program, the Steps Toward Academic Research (STAR) Fellowship. The STAR Fellowship was developed as a component of our institution's EXPORT Center activities from 2005 - 2010, and has become a centerpiece ofthe UNTHSC Coordinated Plan for minority education and research. It provides unique opportunities for underrepresented minority (URM) students from K-12 throughout postdoctorate training to learn about and engage in health disparities education and research. A primary element of our proposed COE, will be to renew, update, and expand the STAR Fellowship. The program will be expanded by more extensively incorporating Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) training and activities into the program curriculum, and by also developing a Community Fellows Track into the STAR Fellowship program. The Research Training/Education program will be led by Drs. Jose A. Pagan, Hadan P. Jones, and Robert Kaman. This leadership team bnngs together transdisciplinary expertise in research and research training related to CBPR (Pagan and Kaman), health disparities in social and behavioral sciences (Pagan and Kaman), biomedical sciences (Jones), public health law (Kaman), health care management and health economics (Pagan), and health policy (Pagan and Kaman). Consistent with the specific goals ofthe Research Training/Education Core, extensive interactions with the research and outreach cores are integrated into all activities ofthe core.
The Research Training/Education Core supports the professional development of students, faculty and community stakeholders in health disparities research. Supporting research training and educational activities at every level is relevant and important in order to meet the objective of developing a strong, minority-based cadre of research faculty at the UNTHSC and underrepresented minority serving institutions.
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