Developing Health Equity Researchers in a Teaching-Focused Academic Institution

Background: First generation-educated racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are gravely underrepresented in biomedical disciplines, including health equity research careers. Institutional and contextual barriers that underrepresented faculty and students face when pursuing biomedical research careers are formidable. However, academic institutions often lack the infrastructure and capacity to ameliorate these important issues.

Methods: CSULB received a NIMHD Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) grant to: enhance infrastructure and research capacity, conduct applied community health research on conditions disproportionately affecting disadvantaged populations, and institutionalize successful strategies for supporting underrepresented faculty and students in establishing research careers.  

Results: Twenty-one faculty members from 14 departments were supported to conduct independent research. Faculty were subsequently awarded 3 extramural grants (~$1mil). Faculty and leadership staff completed 23 manuscripts and 49 scientific presentations. Four faculty fellows received tenure and promotion, which they attribute directly to RIMI support. Twenty graduate students from 11 departments completed 16 conference poster presentations. All students attended a new Health Equity and Health Disparities Research in the U.S. course developed through this project. Five students were accepted to doctoral programs and 4 are in the process of applying. New multidisciplinary collaborations were formed across campus and with community partners.

Conclusions: Five years of progress in fostering faculty and student health equity researchers has helped bridge research silos on a large, diverse, teaching-focused campus.  These successes highlight the ongoing need to incorporate health equity research into the fabric of universities institutional missions.