# Clinical Research Resources and Facilities

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO MED SCIENCES · 2022 · $239,680

## Abstract

Abstract/Summary
Improving health care for the medically underserved, including our Hispanic population, afflicted by
prevalent diseases, such as cancer, cardio-metabolic and infectious diseases, remains a major challenge.
Limited representation of racial and ethnic minorities in clinical and translational research is an important
challenge that limits the generalizability of results and contributes to the disproportionate disease burden in these
groups. There is a need to increase the representation of Hispanic research participants and researchers in
clinical and translational research to improve the generalizability and applicability of research findings and
identify ethnic-specific differences that could dictate changes in treatment guidelines and facilitate research in
this population. The Clinical Research Resources and Facilities Core of the Alliance is well positioned to address
the gap in the participation of Hispanic subjects in clinical research and increase the number of Hispanic
scientists participating in clinical and translational research, given their access to resident populations of both
underrepresented Hispanic participants and Hispanic scientists. The goal of the Clinical Research Resources
and Facilities Core (CRRF) is to facilitate and enhance safe and cost-effective clinical and translational
research, with an emphasis in health problems of Hispanics and medically underserved populations. The specific
objective is to provide a coordinated structure across a predominantly Hispanic IDeA jurisdiction to support
collaborative multi-and interdisciplinary clinical and translational research and increase the participation and
retention of Hispanic research participants. The rationale that underlies this proposal is that establishing and
integrating resources across multiple Hispanic-serving Institutions and groups, staffed by culturally consonant
investigators and staff, in a Hispanic US jurisdiction, will overcome many of the barriers that impact participation
of Hispanics in research, which in turn will translate into more studies and more data about diseases prevalent
in Hispanics. Our objective will be accomplished through three specific aims: 1) Establish an integrated network
of clinical and translational research resources and facilities to enhance cost-effective, multidisciplinary and inter-
disciplinary research, in health conditions prevalent among Hispanic populations; 2) Facilitate and increase the
recruitment and retention of research participants from underserved Hispanic communities; 3) Ensure that
clinical and translational research with human subjects is safe and of the highest quality. When these aims are
completed we will impact the representation of Caribbean Hispanics as study participants and as investigators.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10417259
- **Project number:** 5U54GM133807-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO MED SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** MELVIN BONILLA-FELIX
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $239,680
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-02 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10417259

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10417259, Clinical Research Resources and Facilities (5U54GM133807-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10417259. Licensed CC0.

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