Core Members

• Denise Dillard, PhD (Contact Principal Investigator)
• Julie Baldwin, PhD (Multiple Principal Investigator)
• Luciana Hebert, PhD (Research and Education Core Lead)
• Rich Maclehose, PhD (Analysis Core Lead)
• Lucas Gillespie, MPH (Research Project Manager)

Research Education Core

The Research and Education Core (REC) focuses on the population-level health disparities related to aging in American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, including behavioral, socio-cultural, and environmental factors. This work is grounded in the health disparities research framework endorsed by the NIA. The REC will enhance the diversity of an aging research workforce by mentoring promising RCMAR scientists investigating aging among AI/ANs and NHPIs. The Pilot Studies are the primary vehicle for training, mentoring, and providing resources to these professionals.

The Specific Aims of this Core are to:

1. Provide intensive mentoring for 9 CHANGE Scientists, with customized support for career advancement and a capacity-building “mentor pipeline;”
2. Facilitate professional development activities to build capacity for leadership, Community Integration, community-based participatory research, networking, and collaboration; and to foster an environment conducive to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and inclusive excellence; and
3. Champion CHANGE Scientists’ efforts to obtain K- or R-series extramural funding, and provide services and resources for research excellence that will accelerate progress toward tenure and promotion.

A diverse scientific workforce improves engagement, establishes trust with research participants from URM groups, ensures that research is locally appropriate, promotes innovation, helps to avoid biased outcomes, and generates higher quality scientific publications. Personalized, culturally-informed training and access to URM role models are key for successful URM training programs. Our approach reflects new literature on barriers and promotors of URM faculty retention and embodies improvements identified by our former NERC Faculty and Scientists. CHANGE Scientists will benefit from a well-informed, supportive environment and the participation and role modeling of senior Native faculty – including RCMAR alumni – who conduct health research with Native community partners.

Core Members

• Luciana Hebert, PhD (Core Lead)
• Denise Dillard, PhD
• Clemma Muller, PhD
• Amanda Fretts, PhD
• Scott Okamoto, PhD
• Patrik Johansson, MD, MPH
• Richard Maclehose, PhD
• Jessica Williams-Nguyen, PhD
• Irving Angeles, PhD

Analysis Core

The Analysis Core ensures that funded pilot studies efficiently use study resources, apply methods that optimize validity, and yield findings with clear and meaningful inference to the larger population of interest. To achieve these goals, Analysis Core members will be intimately involved in all aspects of pilot studies. They will integrate methods from epidemiology, biostatistics, measurement development and evaluation, health economics, health services and policy, and health outcomes research. Additionally, they will augment their robust quantitative capacity with exceptional experience in qualitative methods specific to underrepresented minority communities.

This Core’s Specific Aims are to:

1. offer state-of-the-art support research methods support to optimize the study design, measurement, data quality, and scientific validity of data analysis for CHANGE Pilot Studies;
2. provide mentoring, deliver didactic instruction, facilitate networking, and support grant writing for CHANGE Scientists;
3. demonstrate applied principles of community-based participatory research by adopting our novel 5-step rubric for quantitative methodologists; and
4. analyze program evaluation data collected by the Leadership and Administrative Core and by the Research and Education Component, catalog and disseminate CHANGE products, and collaborate with the RCMAR Coordinating Center to optimize the RCMAR initiative’s impact.

The Analysis Core team offers expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, demography, and qualitative research methods. Core Faculty have many years of experience providing quantitative and qualitative methods support for Native health research studies led by AI/AN and NHPI Principal Investigators in collaboration with community partners, and they have a strong track record of mentoring Native and other underrepresented minority early-stage investigators, including RCMAR Scientists. The Analysis Core will work to ensure that CHANGE Pilot Studies yield accurate, reliable data; and to promote CHANGE Scientists’ professional development and NIH-funding success.

Core Members

• Richard Maclehose, PhD (Core Lead)
• Lucy Hebert, PhD
• Jessica Williams-Nguyen, PhD
• Irving Angeles