Development Core

Development Core Abstract The goal of Hopkins Population Center (HPC) Development Core is to facilitate the growth of Early-Career Associates (ECAs) and promote multidisciplinary collaboration in its three Primary Research Areas (PRAs) – Poverty and Inequality; Sexual and Reproductive Health; and Family, Maternal and Child Health. The Associate Direction, Dr. Li Liu, directs the Development Core. Three representatives from the PRAs (Drs. Philip Anglewicz, Stephen Morgan and Xiaobin Wang) who are also members of the HPC governance body Faculty Coordinating Committee (FCC), will serve as intellectual brokers between the Associates and the Core Director as well the FCC. The Development Core has two Specific Aims. Aim 1 Supports Early Career Associates (ECAs)’ professional development to accelerate their research success and independence. Aim 2 enhances Associates' innovation, rigor, and multidisciplinary collaboration within and beyond Hopkins to increase our competitiveness for external funding in population dynamics research. To achieve these Aims, we propose to integrate existing programs for efficiency, formalize emerging activities, and develop new initiatives during the next 5-year period: (1) ECA Programs, (2) Research Theme Working Groups, (3) Pilot Research Programs, and (4) HPC annual conferences and symposia. Specifically, we will achieve Aim 1 through ECA Programs, that meet the ECAs’ needs by providing guidance on professional development through One-on- One Mentorships; supporting attendance at NIH and other grant writing workshops; developing a grant exchange repository; and organizing Specific Aims workshops. Dr. Alison Gemmill will serve as the ECA representative to support the ECA Programs. We will accomplish Aim 2 through three types of activities. Research Theme Working Groups include Social Factors and Multi-Omics; Biosensor and Health; Reproductive Health and Family Planning; Innovative Demography, and Population-Scale Network and Inequality. The Pilot Research Programs aim to generate preliminary data, utilize unique opportunities, and pilot test study instruments. The annual HPC conferences and symposia showcase the collective progress the HPC has made in population dynamics each year. These activities will enhance Associates' innovation, rigor, and multidisciplinary collaboration within and beyond Hopkins. The P2C funding will help realize these strategic plans and augment the innovative, productive, and impactful population dynamics research of HPC Associates.