Training Health Equity ScholaRs in InnoVation, PrEvention, and Social Impact (THRIVES) Fellowship Program

UC Berkeley Training HealthEquity ScholaRs in InnoVation, PrEvention, and Social Impact (UCB-THRIVES) Fellowship Program Despite extensive research documenting the existence of pervasive health inequities over the lifespan, there is little research on preventive interventions to address these inequities. Thus, there is an urgent need to train the next generation of public health professionals, especially those from historically marginalized backgrounds, to be equipped with a comprehensive toolkit to confront these challenges. The UC Berkeley Training HealthEquity ScholaRs in InnoVation, PrEvention, and Social Impact (UCB-THRIVES) T32 Fellowship Program proposes a collaboration between three graduate groups in the School of Public Health (UCB-SPH): Epidemiology, Health Policy, and Environmental Health Sciences. The overarching objective is to equip the upcoming generation of health equity scholars with the structural competency and methodological acumen required to develop and evaluate multi-level, preventive interventions to address health equity in partnership with marginalized communities. UCB-SPH is uniquely positioned to provide this training due to its pioneering leadership in social epidemiology, community-engaged research, and advanced statistical methods in causal inference. Furthermore, UCB-SPH demonstrates a profound commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice, which will be leveraged to create a rich training environment for pre-doctoral students. T32 trainees will receive innovative classroom training in health equity, multi-level interventions, and methods in multi-level preventive interventions through coursework and immersive research experiences, and they will be guided throughout by Individual Development Plans. The core training domains will be supplemented with three salient cross-cutting themes critical to achieving health equity: 1) community engagement, 2) anti-racism, and 3) social impact. The UCB-THRIVES T32 Program has an excellent leadership team with Drs. Mujahid and Fernald serving as Co-Directors, bringing a formidable track record of mentorship and complementary expertise to ensure the academic and career success of the UCB-THRIVES trainees. The UCB-THRIVES T32 Fellowship Program unites a cohort of 35 faculty mentors, including 65% female-identified faculty, 40% under-represented minority faculty, and 31% at early career stages. Furthermore, the program faculty have a strong record of grant funding, mentorship, and trainee success and will contribute their content area expertise and opportunities to acquire practical research experience in community-based settings. An Advisory Committee was thoughtfully selected to provide additional input and includes internationally recognized experts in health equity, anti-racism, multi-level community-engaged preventive interventions, community-engaged research, robust methodologies, and social impact. Ultimately, the UCB-THRIVES T32 Program will help foster a new generation of scholars poised to pioneer innovative, preventive solutions to the most pressing health equity challenges, all while embracing social justice as a guiding principle.