Sickle Cell Disease Research Center (SCDRC) Summer Institute/Mentoring Program

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The mission of the Sickle Cell Disease Research Center (SCDRC) is to "actively and aggressively participate in the substantive development of basic research and training efforts to improve treatment options or cure sickle cell disease". The SIPID funding initiative is relevant to the mission of the SCDRC project because it will utilize a multidisciplinary approach to increase underrepresented minorities in Biomedical Research related to heart, lung, and blood disease. The program will fund summer institutes to enable 10-12 participants from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to further develop their research skills and knowledge, thereby enhancing their career development as faculty members or scientists. The summer institute will focus on genomic-based biomedical research related to sickle cell disease (SCD): to introduce multidisciplinary approaches to genomic research and establish a broad base working knowledge of current technological advances and identify potential areas of future research projects involving modern DMA and protein analytical tools. This will be accomplished through classroom didactic lectures and hands-on bench training in laboratory settings. Our goals will include: increasing the number of racial and ethical underserved individuals who enter research careers by establishing a structured mentored training program and long-term research collaborations between mentors and mentees; increasing grantsmanship skills of participants; and identifying extramural research funding opportunities. Diversity of scientific and scholarly activity will be valuable in improving the public health of patients and subjects from diverse backgrounds. Studies have suggested that a racially concordant scientific staff is more successful in recruiting individuals from minority groups into clinical studies. Racially similar physician-patient dyads have been shown to be related to greater patient satisfaction in ways that may also enhance communication and participation in a clinical research setting. The need for a diverse workforce permeates all aspects of the nation's public health-related research efforts. Because minorities suffer a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality associated with HLBS disorders, there is a critical need to increase the number of investigators conducting research on health disparities in HLBS disorders, such as sickle cell disease.