Abstract
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) proposes the Endowment for Learning Health
Systems and Learning Health Communities to create a Learning Health Systems and Learning Health
Communities (LHSC) Core. The NIMHD-Endowed Urban Health Institute (UHI) was established to house
infrastructure at CDU that facilitates minority health and health disparities research across all schools and
colleges, each of which strives to enhance scientific workforce diversity by training students from marginalized
communities or communities of color. UHI’s priority areas of research include cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardio-
metabolic, mental health, substance abuse, and health services and policy. Previous endowment efforts have
resulted in the creation of the Division of Community Engagement, which supports a community faculty track
and community/healthcare partners; the Student Research Core; and the Health Services Research Center
(HSRC) to support health services and policy research. The proposed endowment plan’s overarching
goal/mission is to expand and extend UHI’s research capacity with regard to community-engaged research
(CEnR) and its health services and biomedical research to address minority health and health disparities, and
to enhance the diversity of the scientific workforce at CDU and its surrounding community. CDU proposes to
create a Learning Health Systems and Learning Health Communities Core within UHI, a collaboration primarily
with (but not limited to) the HSRC, the Division of Community Engagement, the Bioinformatics Core, and the
Student Research Core to enhance the capacity to conduct cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardio-metabolic, mental health,
substance abuse, and health services research and increase the scientific workforce diversity.
The following three specific aims are proposed:
Specific Aim 1: To enhance institutional minority and health disparities research capacity and infrastructure
across all CDU schools and colleges by developing a Learning Health System and Communities (LHSC) Core
with a focus on, but not limited to, health services and community-engaged research.
Specific Aim 2: To enhance the diversity of the scientific workforce in minority health and health disparity
research by creating a pipeline for masters and doctoral programs for racial and ethnic minorities and plan a
doctoral program in biomedical sciences.
Specific Aim 3: To effectively manage the endowment portfolio at a level consistent with the highest fiduciary
standards in the United States.