Mentoring and Partnerships for Health Equity Research: Lessons Learned and Impact of a Health Disparity Research Pilot Program for Early Investigators.

Abstract

Problem: Lack of federal funding for health research explicitly referencing diverse communities has led to systematic underinvestment in efforts addressing the diverse needs of underresearched populations. This report presents an overview of the Center for the Study of Asian American Health at NYU Langone (CSAAH) Pilot Project Program, which aims to eliminate health disparities and advance health equity among Asian American populations.

Approach: Established in 2003, CSAAH mentors early-stage investigators (ESIs) in performing research that builds on connections with community partners for health disparity populations. A central feature is the annual CSAAH Pilot Project Program, which mentors ESIs in health disparities research and independent funding. The program aims to increase the number of ESIs conducting health disparities research using rigorous, community-engaged, transdisciplinary approaches. This report describes the CSAAH Pilot Project Program's operations and evaluates mentee progress across 6 award cycles from September 2017 to June 2024.

Outcomes: Across 6 cycles (2017-2024), CSAAH supported 45 projects: 21 by postdoctoral fellows and 24 by junior faculty. Through May 2024, awardees reported receiving 67 grant awards after their pilot funding (totaling >$15.5 million), publishing 803 articles, and receiving 20 career promotions. The program was positively received by awardees and perceived to be beneficial to their careers, with most respondents (>90%) reporting that the mentored research experience improved their capacity for collaborations and knowledge and use of equity-focused methods, provided opportunities to expand their research networks, and supported their career intentions to seek and obtain external funding.

Next steps: Planned refinements to the program seek to decentralize learning through multilevel mentorship and sustained engagement across past awardees and the faculty and mentorship teams by matching future awardees by self-identified content areas to senior faculty and "near-peer" ESI mentors and continuing annual follow-up through evaluation survey outreach and hosting dedicated, regular touchpoints with program alumni.