Eligibility

To be eligible, Research Education Program applicants must:

• Plan to conduct aging-related research with American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, or Pacific Islanders;
• Have an advanced degree in social, behavioral, economic, or other relevant health sciences;
• Be a transitioning postdoctoral fellow, Assistant Professor, or Research Assistant Professor at WSU or an affiliated CHANGE university or hold another faculty position and be eligible for Early Stage Investigator status for at least 2 more years;
• Be eligible for serving as Principal Investigator on a K- or R-series mechanism;
• Be up to date with human subjects training or commit to completing training before the cohort’s kickoff meeting;
• Demonstrate ability to meet all program requirements for the full 18 months;
• Secure approval of the funding sponsor (NIA-NIH) after acceptance to the program by the project team; and
• Identify an experienced faculty member at their institution willing to serve as home mentor for the duration of the 18 month period.

Research Education Program Activities

The 18-month Research Education Program will involve seven components:

1. A 2-day kickoff meeting on health disparities pertaining to aging and American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander elders; Pilot Project proposal presentations (Month 1)
2. Various online courses (timing varies)
3. Pilot Study (Months 1-12)
4. Regular in-person/Zoom meetings in Seattle that include didactic sessions (every 3-4 months)
5. Bi-weekly interactions with mentor team (Months 1-18)
6. A 2-day intensive grant-writing workshop (Month 13)
7. A mock review of each trainee’s funding proposal (Month 18)

Responsibilities and Expectations

Research Education Program Scholars (i.e., training participants) are expected to attend and/or complete all of the program activities listed above. Participants must produce at least one publication based on their Pilot Study and will be required to complete a Duke University course in scientific writing before starting the program. During the twelfth month of the program, participants will provide a brief standardized report of their accomplishments, including the status of their Pilot Study, publications, current plans for grant application(s), and plans for future career development.

Because some outcomes of pilot funding will not be immediate, we will annually request and review each participant’s progress in terms of all new publications, presentations, grants, and contributions to health and health disparities research during all five years of parent grant funding. In addition, participants, along with other RCMAR scientists, will present their findings at the Resource Center for Minority Aging Research annual conference, as requested by the National Institute on Aging. This will stimulate new collaborations, highlight active projects, and publicize the achievements of both CHANGE RCMAR and our RCMAR scientists.

Analysis Mentoring and Data Access

Scholars are assigned a statistical mentor who will provide support for quantitative data analyses. The extent of the support will vary according to the skills and needs of each Scholar, but in all cases, the statistical mentor must have access to a deidentified copy of the Pilot Project dataset. For primary data collection or data sources that are not publicly available, applicants who are invited to submit a full proposal may be required to provide documentation guaranteeing timely access prior to acceptance into the program.

Funding: 18-month program: 12-month Pilot Project and 6-month Grant-Writing Training

12-Month Pilot Project Award

Applicants proposing primary data collection may request a maximum of 0.20 FTE in salary along with benefits, in addition to $25,000 in direct costs to conduct their Pilot Study in Months 1-12 of the relevant cycle. For primary data collection projects, the request for direct costs may include salary support for staff or research coordinators, as needed, and funds for participant incentives. We anticipate most projects will require 0.10 to 0.15 in faculty FTE and no more than $20,000 in direct costs. The maximum total award for a primary data analysis project is $50,000 in direct costs.

Applicants proposing a secondary data analysis may request up to 0.20 FTE of their salary along with benefits, plus the costs of acquiring the dataset (if not in the public domain or accessible to the investigator). The maximum total award for a secondary data analysis project is $50,000 in direct costs.

Budget requests for equipment and other faculty salaries will be discouraged, although they may occasionally be appropriate. Therefore, we will maintain flexibility to consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. All Research Education Program-related travel will be covered by the parent grant.

Applicants cannot request indirect costs. A memo from the CHANGE RCMAR Principal Investigator regarding indirect costs is available upon request for documentation purposes.

6-Month Grant Writing Training Award

Applicants may request up to 0.20 FTE in salary along with benefits for the 6-month grant-writing training portion of the Program. Applicants cannot request travel costs. All Research Education Program-related travel will be covered by the parent grant.

Questions?

Please send all inquiries to changercmar.ireach@wsu.edu.