# Drug Discovery and Biomedical Research Training (DDBRT) Program for Underserved Minority Youth

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE · 2021 · $54,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The Drug Discovery and Biomedical Research Training (DDBRT) Program at the University of Maryland Eastern
Shore School of Pharmacy (UMES SOP) mentors, trains, and motivates minority high school students in
Somerset County to pursue education and careers in the applied healthcare fields and biomedical research.
Somerset County is one of the most rural and underserved communities in the State of Maryland, with one of
the highest COVID-19 positivity rates and lowest COVID-19 vaccinations out of any Maryland district, especially
among minority populations. The proposed project will use a multi-component approach leveraging strengths of
the DDBRT to disseminate information and reduce vaccine hesitancy in under-vaccinated populations through
in-person workshops, volunteering at a COVID-19 vaccination site, digital media campaigns, video production,
and social media platforms. An expert panel of healthcare providers, public health workers, teachers, and
religious leaders will implement a curriculum compromised of interactive modules about scientific findings on
SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, recognizing misinformation, and overcoming SARS-CoV-2 vaccine
hesitancy aimed at high school students, teachers, and their families. This will be presented in-person and
recorded on websites, social media, and YouTube for the community. High school students will help to design
two student-hosted videos featuring different topics to improve vaccine confidence that will be placed on
websites, YouTube, and on social media. Participants will also apply these principles learned at a COVID-19
vaccination event to address remaining vaccine-related misconceptions. The high school students and SEPA
PIs will use the UMES Facebook page to disseminate COVID-19 and vaccination scientific findings to the
community on a weekly basis. The program is expected to occur from July 2021 to June 2022. This proposal is
innovative by combining the expertise of pharmacists, the main providers of SARS-COV-2 vaccines with specific
knowledge of issues related to vaccine hesitancy, with influential community leaders to educate and empower
students from a medically underserved population. These students will become COVID-19 vaccine champions
and serve as ambassadors to encourage their teachers, family, and community to get vaccinated through novel
educational resources. Overall, the expected outcome aligns with the parent DDBRT program by stimulating the
student’s interest in and pursuit of pharmaceutical, health-related, and biomedical research careers by actively
connecting in-classroom biomedical studies with the real-world pandemic that is disproportionately affecting their
community.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10399086
- **Project number:** 3R25GM129809-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
- **Principal Investigator:** Adel Karara
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $54,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-06-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10399086

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10399086, Drug Discovery and Biomedical Research Training (DDBRT) Program for Underserved Minority Youth (3R25GM129809-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10399086. Licensed CC0.

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