# Florida International University-Health Disparities Initiative (FIU-HDI)

> **NIH NIH S21** · FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY · 2023 · $2,000,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The long-term objective of the proposed Florida International University-Health Disparities Initiative (FIU-HDI)
is to enhance and expand FIU’s capacity for health disparities research and training. These efforts will have a
direct impact on reducing health disparities in communicable and noncommunicable health conditions in
vulnerable, underserved communities in South Florida and the Caribbean region. The proposed FIU-HDI will
advance foundational efforts of the original FIU-HDI (S21MD010683) and other health disparities programs
and centers at the University, including: FIU’s P20 Center for Substance Use and HIV/AIDS Research on
Latinos in the United States (C-SALUD; P20MD002288); FIU’s U54 Center for Latino Health Research
Opportunities (CLaRO; #U54MD002266), which is a continuation of FIU’s P20 Center, and; FIU’s Emerging
Preeminent Health Inequities and Disparities Program. The proposed FIU-HDI will utilize community-engaged
multidisciplinary approaches to further strengthen the University’s capacity to train the next generation of public
health, clinical, biomedical, and behavioral researchers at FIU’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health &
Social Work (hereafter Stempel College) and Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (hereafter HWCOM) to
address health disparities in communicable and noncommunicable heath conditions—and advance health
equity—among underserved populations in South Florida and the Caribbean. Thus, the three objectives of the
proposed FIU-HDI are: Objective 1: Expand the breadth and scope of FIU’s existing Health Disparities
Doctoral Concentration to include doctoral students across all departments/schools within Stempel College,
and doctoral students in Biomedical Sciences at HWCOM, enabling them to earn doctoral degrees in their
respective fields with a concentration in Health Disparities; Objective 2: Expand the FIU-HDI post-doctoral
training program allowing early stage investigators to receive training, mentoring, and professional
development opportunities in their chosen focus area with the goal of becoming independent health disparities
researchers; Objective 3: Expand and strengthen the HWCOM Research Scholarship Course by continuing
to train the next generation of physicians to understand the role of social and cultural determinants of health in
the diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients in vulnerable and underserved communities. The proposed FIU-
HDI will build on the expertise available across Stempel College, whose faculty (a) possess extensive
experience in conducting NIH-funded community-engaged health disparities research with underserved
communities in South Florida; and (b) have cultivated and sustained ongoing community-based collaborations
with distinguished research institutions in the Caribbean. This application expands on the success of the
current program to establish a permanent investment by the University in continuing to build research and
training infrastructure leading to ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10764065
- **Project number:** 2S21MD010683-06
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Mario R De La Rosa
- **Activity code:** S21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $2,000,000
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2016-04-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10764065

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10764065, Florida International University-Health Disparities Initiative (FIU-HDI) (2S21MD010683-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10764065. Licensed CC0.

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