Investigator Development Core

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT (IDC) Tuskegee University Center for Biomedical Research (CBR) Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMI) proposes the Investigator Development Core (IDC) to accelerate its past achievements in enhancing the professional development and success of junior faculty supported by the program. Towards this goal, it will provide junior-level and early-stage investigators at Tuskegee University (TU) with the necessary resources and training to assist them in their move to the status of independent researchers, with primary focus on the topics of minority health and health disparities. The IDC is intended to support primarily: 1) Faculty members who are already in the field of biomedical research but, because of their junior status, require a period of mentored career development in order to become independent scientists in the fields of minority health and health disparities research; 2) Faculty who are considered early-stage investigators in either non-biomedical or biomedical field, and interested in minority health research or the translation of their existing research to the topics of minority health; and 3) Researchers who propose an approach that will have a substantial impact on the health outcomes in the Black Belt Counties of Alabama. More specifically, IDC aims to: 1) Provide funding for pilot research projects from junior level or early-stage faculty who propose projects that address minority health and health disparities or enhance TU research capacity, 2) Coordinate and facilitate mentorship, training, and professional developmental activities for pilot project investigators and other TU faculty with potential to initiate minority health projects, and 3) Establish broader affiliation of TU faculty with the CBR and engage them in Center activities to create awareness and to promote greater participation in the overall aims of the CBR/RCMI. To achieve these aims, the IDC will coordinate and integrate its efforts with the Administrative Core, the Capacity Building Core, the Community Engagement Core, our existing extramural collaborative networks and the CBR program evaluation system. Multiple internal and external resources will be leveraged and synergized to develop a broad-based investigator pool to grow biomedical research at TU to even higher levels. The IDC support is expected to advance the professional growth of junior faculty at TU by enhancing their productivity, competitiveness, and potential to be established researchers on diseases that disproportionately impact minority populations.