Minority Health and Health Disparities Research

Objectives: To support basic, clinical, social, and behavioral research; promote research infrastructure and training; foster emerging programs; disseminate information; and reach out to minority and other health disparity communities. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) has established programs to pursue these goals: (1) The Centers of Excellence Program promotes research to improve minority health and/or reduce and eliminate health disparities; builds research capacity for minority health and health disparities research in academic institutions; encourages participation of health disparity groups and communities in biomedical and behavioral research and prevention and intervention activities; and brings together investigators from relevant disciplines in a manner that will enhance and extend the effectiveness of their research; (2) NIMHD Research Endowment Program builds research capacity and infrastructure at eligible NIMHD Centers of Excellence or eligible Section 736 health professions schools (42 U.S.C. 293) to facilitate minority health and other health disparities research to close the disparity gap in the burden of illness and death experienced by racial and ethnic minority Americans and other health disparity populations; promotes a diverse and strong scientific, technological and engineering workforce; and emphasizes the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities and other socio-economically disadvantaged populations in the fields of biomedical and behavioral research and other areas of the scientific workforce; (3) The Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research to stimulate basic and applied research on environmental health disparities; (4) Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training Program (MHIRT) awards enable U.S. institutions to tailor short-term basic science, biomedical and behavioral mentored student international research training opportunities to address global issues related to understanding, reducing, and eliminating health disparities; (5) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program increases private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal research and development; encourages small business participation in Federal research and development; and fosters and encourages participation of socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned small business concerns in technological innovation; (6) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program stimulates and fosters scientific and technological innovation through cooperative research development carried out between small business concerns and research institutions; fosters technology transfer between small business concerns and research institutions; increases private sector commercialization of innovations derived from Federal research and development; and fosters and encourages participation of socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned small business concerns in technological innovation; (7) Health Disparities Research Project Grants (RPG) support innovative projects to enhance our understanding of biological mechanisms, social, behavioral, and health services that can directly and demonstrably contribute to the improvement in minority health and the elimination of health disparities which includes the (8) Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) build capacity for basic biomedical and/or behavioral research, clinical and translational research (RCTR) and a network (RCTN) by focusing on institutional resource development, such as supporting core research facilities and staff, purchasing advanced instrumentation, and laboratory renovations/alterations (9) Clinical Research Education and Career Development (CRECD) Awards provide didactic training and mentored clinical research experiences to develop independent researchers who can lead clinical research studies, especi