Coordination Center for Programs for Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research (PRIDE)

Washington University, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Background: Some groups are particularly susceptible to Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep (HLBS) disorders which persist over time, even in the face of notable improvements in morbidity and mortality rates overall. The NIH is committed to recruiting and retaining a workforce with the potential to contribute new ideas and innovative solutions to help reduce these disorders across various groups. Objectives: The current program consists of 9 active Summer Institute (SI) research education training programs with the general goal of providing research experiences, skills development and mentoring for early career biomedical researchers. The CC will facilitate the coordination of education and evaluation activities among the SI programs by facilitating: 1) the coordination of program-wide activities (e.g., organization, outreach and recruitment, and candidate screening); 2) the education and support through implementing the small research projects (SRP) and distributions of resources, tools and opportunities; and 3) the development and implementation of an evaluation plan that integrates data from previous cohorts. The evaluation protocol will assess key outcomes, collect and track outcomes across time, and benchmark these outcomes against a comparison group of untrained faculties matched to the program participants. Significance and Innovation: Since this is a competing renewal, the infrastructure and organization already are operational, although we are prepared to make timely and efficient changes as needed. There is continuity, with the contact PI having served in this capacity since the beginning of the project (over 17 years). Finally, knowing whether the training has been successful depends on having relevant comparisons. Our application specifically addresses this issue by adding an MPI who is trained in bioinformatics methods and has access to unique electronic training education records for discovery and recruiting an appropriate comparison sample. Methodology: This project is built around our web-based infrastructure that allows Public and Secure access to program information, including our on-line data entry system, which will be upgraded and further automated during the funding cycle. Summary: Our team has unique expertise and experience to continue as the CC for the program and evaluate those indicators of success outlined in this proposal. Further, we are uniquely positioned to assess the impact of this program by benchmarking our results against a matched comparison group and look forward to tracking the career development of these bright and motivated investigators as they lead us into the future.