Theory-Informed Research Training and Mentoring of Underrepresented Early-Career Faculty at Teaching-Intensive Institutions: The Obesity Health Disparities PRIDE Program

Abstract

<p>Mentoring has been consistently identi­fied as an important element for career advancement in many biomedical and health professional disciplines and has been found to be critical for success and promotion in academic settings. Early-career faculty from groups underrepresented in biomedical research, however, are less likely to have mentors, and in general, receive less mentoring than their majority-group peers, particularly among those employed in teaching-intensive institutions. This article describes Obesity Health Disparities (OHD) PRIDE, a theoretically and concep­tually based research training and men­toring program designed for early-career faculty who trained or are employed at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). <em></em></p><p><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2018;28(2):115-122; doi:10.18865/ed.28.2.115. </p>

Writing Accountability Groups Are a Tool for Academic Success: The Obesity Health Disparities PRIDE Program

“…The number and quality of peerreviewed publications are traditional NIH metrics of success for research training and mentoring programs, as well as for the awarding of most extramural funding. 7,21 Yet, many URM faculty face several challenges that impede their writing, including but not limited to a lower likelihood of post-doctoral research training and going directly to a teaching position. 22 OHD PRIDE mentees identified the five biggest barriers to writing as trouble getting started, too many teaching commitments, perfectionism that prevents them from finishing, too many personal/family commitments, and difficulty with time management.…”

“…3,5,14 Writing and publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts is one of the primary challenges facing URM faculty at both research-intensive and teaching-intensive institutions. 7 The development of strong writing skills and related habits is often assumed to be part of graduate research training; however, graduate students from groups underrepresented in the biomedical sciences tend to have fewer opportunities to develop scientific communication skills for careers in research compared with their peers from majority populations. 4 Those who transition to their first faculty position in a teaching-intensive institution without completing a post-doctoral research fellowship or publishing from it typically require additional training to establish research careers, and even many URM fellows at research-intensive institutions have had fewer opportunities to participate in high-quality research projects and to publish than their majority-group peers.…”

“…In an effort to increase the competitiveness of investigators underrepresented in the biomedical sciences and reduce the racial/ ethnic funding gap in R01s, the NIH has established a number of training programs focused on developing strong grantsmanship skills, including, but not limited to, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Programs to Increase Diversity among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research (PRIDE) [7][8][9][10] ; Resource Writing Accountability Groups -Thorpe et al for faculty research development. 7 Obesity Health Disparities (OHD) PRIDE is an intensive research training and mentoring program funded by NHLBI, designed to support research-oriented earlycareer URM faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other teaching-intensive institutions in their effort to become established as independent biomedical scientists. 7,8 It is focused on developing mentees' strong scientific writing skills, promoting their strategic writing in advance of applying for grants, and enhancing the scholarly productivity of faculty with heavy teaching and clinical loads.…”

“…7 Obesity Health Disparities (OHD) PRIDE is an intensive research training and mentoring program funded by NHLBI, designed to support research-oriented earlycareer URM faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other teaching-intensive institutions in their effort to become established as independent biomedical scientists. 7,8 It is focused on developing mentees' strong scientific writing skills, promoting their strategic writing in advance of applying for grants, and enhancing the scholarly productivity of faculty with heavy teaching and clinical loads. 7 Because there is a paucity of published evidence-based strategies to establish scientific writing habits among early-career faculty from groups underrepresented in biomedical science, OHD PRIDE has also sought to evaluate the impact of its activities in this area.…”

“…7,8 It is focused on developing mentees' strong scientific writing skills, promoting their strategic writing in advance of applying for grants, and enhancing the scholarly productivity of faculty with heavy teaching and clinical loads. 7 Because there is a paucity of published evidence-based strategies to establish scientific writing habits among early-career faculty from groups underrepresented in biomedical science, OHD PRIDE has also sought to evaluate the impact of its activities in this area.…”