PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Our proposed P50 Center of Excellence in Investigator Development and Community
Engagement –
Development of Investigators Supporting Community Outreach and Value
of Engagement in health disparities Research, DISCOVER,
will establish the organizational
infrastructure to develop, and sustain early career investigators to conduct health disparities
research to improve outcomes in cancer, stroke and maternal health among Black and
Hispanic/Latino residents in the Washington DC area. DISCOVER will transform GUMC’s
approach to the development of early career investigators focused on health disparities research
by (1) implementing infrastructure for scientific leadership, strategy, and evaluation of training, (2)
enriching investigator development in health disparities research in cancer, stroke and
maternal health, and (3) fostering DISCOVER investigators’ core competencies in community
engagement and dissemination.
DISCOVER will benefit from interaction with experts on each of
our three Advisory Boards:
External, Internal and Community Advisory Boards. We aim to: Aim
1 Implement DISCOVER’s infrastructure to lead the scientific direction, strategy, and evaluation
of training in health disparities research. Leveraging GUMC’s current research centers and input
from our Advisory Boards, we will: (1) Establish the administrative and advisory board oversight,
communication, and interaction between cores, (2) Track progress in health disparities research
of early stage investigators, and (3) Evaluate the quality and outcomes of DISCOVER’s training
and community engagement activities. AIM 2: Develop investigators to support and sustain
research to address health disparities in cancer, stroke and material health. We will use an
innovative cohort model with coaching and interactive research development activities to: (1)
Develop mechanisms for DISCOVER pilot funding, and (2) Increase investigators’ knowledge and
skills in a) awareness of the multilevel structural and social determinants of health (SDOH), b)
health disparities research methods, and c) grant development and grant management. Aim 3:
Promote community engagement and disseminate findings in cancer, stroke, and maternal
health disparities research. We will: (1) Elicit community input on the pilot funding call for
proposals, (2) Develop investigators’ core competencies in community engagement and results
dissemination and (3) Communicate and disseminate DISCOVER’s goals and progress to GUMC
and in Washington DC. DISCOVER will be a catalyst for early stage investigators to conduct
community-engaged health disparities research at GUMC and in the Washington DC community.
