Changing the face of science
The VCU Center on Health Disparities was established in 2005 by the VCU Board of Visitors in response to emerging evidence of barriers to equitable health care at the local, state and national levels. Our overall mission is to develop the capacity of faculty, staff, students and community partners to identify causes for interventions that will eliminate health disparities. Our center’s key areas of focus:
Research training programs
Health disparities research
Community engagement
Collaborating with all schools on the MCV Campus, the College of Humanities and Sciences and the College of engineering, we recruit and mentor racial and ethnic minorities and other under-represented groups at all levels with the goal of diversification of the scientific research and health care workforce.
Our faculty conduct research that advances the understanding of the development and progression of diseases and disabilities that contribute to health disparities.
We create partnerships to help community members take actions to reduce health disparities by understanding and addressing the social, structural and environmental factors that are connected to the state of health in their communities.
The VCU CoHD positively impacts communities across the commonwealth through the development of programs that are focused on the needs of communities with health disparities.
Our center’s research training programs recognize talented students and expose them to a variety of scientific and research approaches, systems for study, tools and technologies. Our pipeline includes programs at the undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, doctoral and postdoctoral levels that are designed to identify talented underrepresented trainees, enhance basic science education of these individuals and provide mentored research experiences.
To reduce health disparities by training a diverse and competent workforce, and by serving and engaging disparate communities
Enhance research training opportunities
Increase the diversity of the health sciences workforce
Increase the quantity and quality of health disparities research through research, training and education initiatives
Facilitate university and community engagement initiatives to address health disparities
Facilitate university and community partnerships through information sharing and partnership development that enable students, faculty, staff, organizations and communities to work together to reduce health disparities
Our Programs
VCU is one of only two institutions in the U.S. to offer research and training programs designed to address disparities in biomedical researchers in all levels of higher education. Since we began, these programs housed within the School of Medicine’s Center on Health Disparities have been awarded a total of $13.3 million in grant funding and have served more than 200 students while maintaining excellent trainee outcomes.
|
Program
|
NIH
|
Program
|
Trainees
|
Program
|
National
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMSD – undergrad (Initiative for Maximizing Student Development program) |
$2.5 million | Provides research training in the biomedical sciences for undergraduate students from groups traditionally underrepresented in biomedical research
|
107 | 98% of participants earned a B.S. within six years |
40% of African American students and 54% of Hispanic students receive a bachelor’s degree within six years, nationally |
| PREP (Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program) |
$3.2 million | A one-year biomedical research training program for recent college graduates in groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences |
66 | 92% of participants who enrolled in Ph.D. programs since 2011 have earned that degree or are actively pursuing it |
Less than 60% of African American and Hispanic students enrolled in a Ph.D. program completed their degrees in 10 years, according to a national study by the Council of Graduate Schools |
| IMSD – Ph.D. (Initiative for Maximizing Student Development program) |
$2.6 million | Provides Ph.D.- level training in the biomedical sciences from groups traditionally underrepresented in biomedical research
|
24 | 67% of participants received Ph.D. degrees in seven years or less. |
52% of minority Ph.D. students in life sciences complete their degree in seven years or less, nationally |
| IRACDA (Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award) |
$5 million | A three-year postdoctoral program to train fellows in biomedical research and teaching, focusing on individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in biomedical research and those committed to teaching at diverse institutions |
24 | 85% of participants found faculty positions as assistant professors and beyond. |
Less than 15% of Ph.D. recipients were in tenure-eligible positions six years after receiving their degree, according to 2014 data from the National Science Foundation |
| HERO-T (VCU Health Education and Research Opportunities for Teachers) |
$596,000 | Provides secondary school science teachers from high-need schools with research experiences |
16 | 100% of teachers completed the program and have continued teaching |
Virginia reports 10% teacher turnover rate with about 50% of those leaving the profession |
May *2021
VCU CoHD's pipeline research and educational strategies
The VCU CoHD’s pipeline research and educational strategies have become an important influence in advancing health career diversity by increasing the number of underrepresented students who enter graduate school, obtain a health professional career and/or become researchers.
The VCU Center on Health Disparities career development model
The VCU Center on Health Disparities career development model supports VCU’s mission and Quest 2025 strategic plan. We inspire the next generation of biomedical researchers toward a career of research and scientific discovery. Our pipeline programs advance institutional excellence and enhance university culture by supporting student success, which includes improved retention and graduation rates in the biomedical sciences.
We target students who are from racial/ethnic minorities, are economically disadvantaged, first-generation college-bound, or living with disabilities. All of these students are underrepresented in biomedical research. Our programs provide them access to mentoring in a biomedical research environment, introduce and expose them to biomedical research careers, and offer guidance and application support for acceptance into graduate programs. (Quest 2025 Theme I- I.3 & Theme ll - ll.1)
Our pipeline programs have garnered funding from the Division of Minority Opportunities in Research of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). Only six schools in the U.S. have IMSD, PREP and IRACDA programs. VCU is in company with the University of Arizona, Tucson; University of Michigan Medical School; University of New Mexico; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Baylor College of Medicine. Of these schools, only VCU and the University of Arizona have IMSD programs that serve both undergraduate and Ph.D. students. As such, VCU is one of only two schools in the country with this NIGMS training grant portfolio.
The CoHD NIGMS training program portfolio is highly regarded in the U.S.
Consequently, the CoHD NIGMS training program portfolio is highly regarded in the U.S. (Quest 2025 Theme II.1) This program serves a breadth of trainees at multiple levels in the training network, preparing students for the broader biomedical workforce, including those entering technical industry positions, nonprofit organizations and health care professions.
Our undergraduates enter graduate programs at outstanding institutions (including VCU), are obtaining postdoctoral fellowships in highly respected labs, and are obtaining tenure-eligible faculty positions and recognition as authors on primary scientific literature. Since 2010, the percentage of underrepresented graduate students in the VCU School of Medicine has increased from less than 10% to more than 14%, and the pipeline programs have been key elements in this increase. Eighty-two percent of our pipeline program trainees are from underrepresented populations, more than 90% of them entered graduate school and 30% of them have stayed at VCU for graduate school with 100% retention in graduate programs. The number of VCU underrepresented students entering national Ph.D. programs has significantly increased, and our programs have contributed to this improving pipeline of underrepresented students. Our graduation rates are well above the institutional averages, especially for Black and Latino males in STEM, which are high-risk populations at VCU and nationally. (Quest 2025 Theme II-ll.3)