# Catalyzing Systemic Change at Drexel University to Support Diverse Faculty in Health Disparities Research

> **NIH NIH U54** · DREXEL UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $4,168,094

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The Drexel University FIRST program will build a collaborative structure involving multi-level inputs from
University leaders, academic units and faculty to catalyze sustainable institutional change that supports
scientific and inclusive excellence in the conduct of health disparities research. The Administrative Core (AC)
will (1) recruit and ensure the success of a diverse set of junior faculty and (2) support the transformation of the
environment at Drexel University to facilitate the recruitment and success of other diverse NIH funded
researchers and create a sustained culture of inclusive excellence across the University. We will leverage and
expand on Drexel University strengths including (1) Drexel’s historical commitment to inclusion and civic
engagement; (2) the updated University strategic plan which prioritizes enhancing faculty diversity and
sustaining a culture of inclusive excellence; (3) the recent exponential growth of externally funded
interdisciplinary population health, intervention science and health disparities research at Drexel; and (4)
University supported interdisciplinary population health initiatives with a health disparity focus. We have
selected health disparities as our area of emphasis because of its importance to the health of the nation, the
critical role of diverse faculty, and the strong track record, support and infrastructure for health disparities
research at Drexel. The program will test the primary hypothesis that a cohort model of faculty hiring,
sponsorship, continual mentoring, and support for professional development, embedded within an institution
implementing evidence-based practices, will create an academic culture of inclusive excellence demonstrated
by significant improvements in metrics of institutional culture and scientific workforce diversity. We also
hypothesize that the cohort model will lead to impactful science in health disparities. The Administrative Core
will provide administrative and budgetary oversight, organizational structure, external input, University
partnerships, communications, and accountability mechanisms necessary to test these hypotheses. The
Specific Aims of the AC are: (1) To provide general administrative and budgetary oversight of the FIRST
Cohort program, including the creation and implementation of a governance structure that engages faculty
across the university, is responsive to program needs in a timely manner. (2) To oversee faculty development
and evaluation activities, including coordination with other FIRST cohorts and with the

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10491879
- **Project number:** 5U54CA267735-02
- **Recipient organization:** DREXEL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ana Victoria Diez Roux
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $4,168,094
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-21 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10491879

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10491879, Catalyzing Systemic Change at Drexel University to Support Diverse Faculty in Health Disparities Research (5U54CA267735-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10491879. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*