March 11, 2021 Michael C. Freed, Ph.D. Chief, Services Research and Clinical Epidemiology Branch Division of Services and Intervention Research National Institute of Mental Health / NIH Office: 301.443.3747 Email: michael.freed@nih.gov RE: Statement of Candidate Eligibility for a Diversity Supplement to R34 MH119411 (PI: Sadaaki Fukui, Indiana University) Dear Dr. Freed, I am submitting a request for an NIH Diversity Supplement to my parent grant R34. This supplemental request is to support Dr. Eric Kyere who is an assistant professor at Indiana University (IU) School of Social Work. Dr. Kyere is eligible for a diversity supplement as a permanent resident who is originally from Ghana. He is a highly motivated scholar aiming to advance racial equity and justice, making him an ideal candidate for this supplement. Dr. Kyere, who is also a racial minority in the United States, is very passionate about understanding the mechanisms and factors of structural racism and identifying methods to tackle the issue. In order for him to continue his research efforts, he has been preparing for tenure at IU. This diversity supplement is an excellent opportunity to help Dr. Kyere reach his career goals as we describe in the attached proposal. Our supplement research goal (i.e., addressing the racial disparities in the mental health workforce) strongly aligns with the current NIMH strategic plans for strengthening the academic and mental health workforce by recruiting and retaining people from diverse backgrounds. Ensuring the success of diverse academic faculty is critical not only for the minority faculty member but also for us to recruit more diverse students and trainees who eventually will diversify our mental health workforce. Our effort ultimately could improve service access and quality for our minority clients. The supplement will help facilitate Dr. Kyere’s career development as he applies his knowledge and skills to a new project under Aims 2 and 3 of the parent R34 and develops preliminary data that will help him be more competitive for external funding. He will apply for tenure and promotion at IU during the 2022-2023 academic year, and the timing of this award will be ideal. To support his career goals through this diversity supplement, we have created supportive environments to provide quality mentoring. We appreciate your consideration of this proposal. Please let me know if you need additional information. Sincerely, Sadaaki Fukui, PhD., MSW., Associate Professor Indiana University School of Social Work MA Steven Allen Martin Associate Vice President for Research Administration Indiana University