Minority Biomedical Research Talent in Psychology

American Psychological Association, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This continuing project will harness the organizational resources of a major scientific/professional association (the American Psychological Association) and demonstrate the effectiveness of a "systemic approach" for increasing the number of persons of color in the educational pipeline for biomedical research careers in psychology--especially in such topical areas as AIDS, stress, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, substance abuse, neuroscience, gerontology, pain and its management, developmental disorders, and other issues at the intersection of health and behavior with disproportionately negative impact on the health and lifespan of persons of color. This systemic approach is distinguished by its focus on strengthening the capacities of participating institutions in a coordinated and planned manner to identify, nurture, and affirm minority talent at all levels of the educational pipeline through use of training procedures that emphasize outreach/orientation, engagement, mentorship, and academic support/preparation for educational transitions. In support of this goal, the project has the following objectives: (a) To establish five multi-institutional Regional Centers of Excellence in recruitment, retention, and training of students of color interested in biomedical research in psychology, each consisting of a research university and two minority-serving institutions; (b) to implement a specific methodology for strengthening linkages among a Center's institutions related to minority recruitment, retention, and training; (c) to provide technical assistance (diversity consultation and scientific advisement) to the Regional Centers and to facilitate implementation and evaluation of their demonstration programs; (d) to increase the number of students of color who are interested in pursuing biomedical research careers in psychology at the project's participating institutions, and to improve these students' rates of retention through enriched training experiences; (e) to disseminate the project's findings, procedures, and demonstration models to all of the nation's academic departments of psychology and to other appropriate scientific/professional associations an.d societies; and (f) to document and evaluate the impact of the proposed systemic approach, and its pipeline training procedures on participating institutions and students. [unreadable] [unreadable]