Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
UK ASCEND (Achieving Success in Community-Engaged research to elimiNate Disparities) - PROJECT SUMMARY– OVERALL The University of Kentucky (UK) will establish Achieving Success in Community-Engaged research to elimiNate Disparities (UK ASCEND), driven by one overarching objective--advancing health equity by promoting community-engaged research (CER) success among ESIs from diverse backgrounds. We propose the comprehensive ASCEND Scholars Program (ASP), a CER Training Program followed by a robust CER Pilot Program, infused with bi-directional engagement with community stakeholders. Compelled to overcome the extreme health disparities experienced by Kentucky’s rural (particularly Appalachian), Black, Hispanic, and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, the proposed Center of Excellence in Investigator Development and Community Engagement is led by multiple principal investigators with complementary expertise and experience, scaffolded by a well-resourced and committed university structure and leadership, and centered within longstanding community partnerships. Housed in UK’s preeminent health equity research and training center, the Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET), UK ASCEND proposes the following aims: (1): Coordinate bold and effective scientific leadership and governance, fiscal and regulatory management, communication and dissemination strategies, and evaluation to assess key outcomes on CER training and success (Administrative Core). (2): Cultivate community-engaged health equity research success among diverse early stage investigators (ESIs) by immersing them into a productive research career advancement program, the ASCEND Scholars Program, consisting of a three-component CER Training Program followed by an opportunity to deploy those skills through a CER Pilot Program, within an environment of strong community partnerships and institutional strengths (Investigator Development Core); (3): Catalyze and sustain long-standing bidirectional community stakeholder-ESI research partnerships and translate findings into sustainable community and system-level changes that advance health equity (Community Engagement and Dissemination Core). We will focus on three outcomes: ESI CER career development, community engagement, and ESI research success. Informed by the NIMHD Research Framework and the Institutional Model for Faculty Diversity Framework, UK ASCEND takes a comprehensive orientation to mitigating health disparities by fostering authentic exchanges among community stakeholders, researchers, providers, and policymakers. UK ASCEND has the motivation, vision, and capacity to contribute to remediating the nation’s worst health disparities by providing comprehensive, rigorous, and inclusive CER training essential for impactful scientific discovery.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).