Address: Kennedy Krieger Institute, 707 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205
Project Director: Harolyn M.E. Belcher, MD, MHS
Contact Phone Numbers: (443) 923-5933 (office) (410) 499-3650 (cell phone)
Email Address: Belcher@kennedykrieger.org
The overarching goal of Healthy People 2030 is to “eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all.” A knowledgeable, culturally responsive, diverse public health and healthcare workforce is essential to accomplish this goal. This proposal will address the RFA-CD22-2201-identified diversity shortfall by increasing the number of talented and diverse public health leaders through the implementation of Category A, entitled the “Maternal and Child Health Careers/Research Initiatives for Student Enhancement-Undergraduate Program” (MCHC/RISE-UP) and Category B, Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Fellowship (Ferguson Fellowship). MCHC/RISE-UP will sustain a national consortium led by the Kennedy Krieger Institute, partnering with Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities; the University of South Dakota (USD) in the Central Plains area; the University of California-Davis (UC-Davis; a predominantly Latino and Asian/Pacific Islander state university), and a new site, the Aaniiih Nakoda College on the Ft. Belknap Reservation in Montana. The MCHC/RISE-UP partnership will optimize the ability to recruit, mentor, and support the academic and career development of up to 250 talented and diverse undergraduate and post-baccalaureate scholars during the funding period. The MCHC/RISE-UP will focus on recruiting scholars from populations experiencing health disparities, including scholars from racial and ethnic groups who are underrepresented in public health careers, scholars with disabilities, first-generation college, scholars who are LGBTQI+, and other marginalized populations, collectively termed: populations underrepresented in public health careers (PUPHC). Scholars will participate in up to two of three 8-week summer mentored public health leadership tracks: (1) clinical track - scholars will accompany pediatric and allied health clinicians durin
g evaluation and treatment of patients; (2) community engagement and advocacy track - scholars will focus on policy, workforce issues, program development, inter-agency collaboration, and implementation of evidence-based culturally responsive practices in systems of care to address the needs of groups who are underserved; and/or (3) research track – scholars will participate in mentored research experiences with researchers in the national consortium programs. MCHC/RISE-UP scholars will participate in activities that address the social determinants of health and the CDC Winnable Battles using videoconferencing technologies. MCHC/RISE-UP scholars will receive assistance with professional development, graduate school applications, personal statements, and curriculum vitae. The Ferguson Fellowship will enroll up to 40 graduate and post-graduate scholars, especially from PUPHC, into 8-week summer, 6-month, or 12-month mentored research experiences in infectious diseases and health disparities. Ferguson Fellows will conduct mentored research with faculty from Kennedy Krieger, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Howard University, Maryland Health Department, Morgan State University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Rollins School of Public Health, or researchers at the CDC. Undergraduate and graduate students will participate in public health seminars focusing on strategies to eliminate health disparities, scientific writing, and leadership skill-building activities. Fellowship students will submit their research to scientific meetings and submit peer-reviewed publications. A robust mixed-method evaluation of program and scholar outcomes will be conducted, including ongoing follow-up of scholar academic and career trajectories.
