CHER Has Completed its 2nd Annual Institute!

The Center for Health Equity Research completed its 2nd annual CHER Institute on June 4-9, 2018 in Long Beach, California, welcoming early career scientists for six days of on-site enhanced training for future NIH investigators.

The CHER Institute is an NIGMS/NIH-funded opportunity for faculty researchers at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to participate in workshops and sessions lead by successful researchers. Participants collaborate with colleagues from around the country and gain insight from mentorship opportunities from the CHER Institute faculty. The 2018 Institute saw participants and mentors from Tufts University, Florida A&M, the University of North Carolina, Morehouse College, UCLA, USC and many others.

Scientists who are in tenure-track positions and who have not yet obtained R01 funding from the NIH, or equivalent funding from another agency, are eligible for the CHER Institute. All the participants are conducting or committed to community-based, social and health behavior research to enhance health equity among racial and ethnic minority populations.

We congratulate all the participants and future NIH researchers from the 2018 CHER Institute! Here are some testimonials from the 2017 Institute attendees:

·         I successfully obtained a tenure-track position at a R1 institution this year, and I want to thank the CHER Institute for this success. I believe the information and knowledge I received from the CHER Institute was vital because I was able to talk about my goals/plans for external funding during my campus visit, and showed them that I have potential to obtain funding because I understand the intricacies of navigating the NIH application.

·         The feedback on my project design and specific aims was most helpful. The big picture stuff was also helpful, but more in the long term. The specific feedback allowed me to hone my project for a pilot grant application, which I was awarded.

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