# Enhancing UNderGraduate Education and Research in AGing to Eliminate Health Disparities > **NIH NIH R25** · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $402,280 ## Abstract The Enhancing UNderGraduate Education and Research in AGing to Eliminate Health Disparities (ENGAGED) Program addresses the shortage of under-represented (UR) scientists in biomedical sciences (BMS) research, particularly in aging-related fields, by increasing research and career opportunities for UR trainees. ENGAGED is a partnership of Program Directors at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM), Wake Forest University (WFU), and Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) that leverages collective strengths in research on aging and vast academic and professional experiences; a history of collaborative diversity-focused undergraduate (UG) research training programs in medicine, science, technology, engineering and math (MSTEM); pre-clinical, clinical, population and translational BMS research expertise and funding in aging; clinical experience addressing health disparities in aging populations; didactic training in aging-related topics; and seasoned team-led training program administration expertise. The ENGAGED Measurable Objectives, which remain aligned with PAR Goals are to: 1) Increase awareness of the unique health care issues facing a diverse aging population and the opportunities to address these issues through research, and 2) Expand opportunities for hands-on paid research internships during the academic year for WFUSM, WFU and WSSU students and during the summer for students recruited locally and nationally. Research and career mentors (~37% UR) serve as formal and informal counselors during and after the program and ~57% are members of established WFUSM-supported and NIA-funded centers offering a wide range of research in aging. Tangible and sustainable progress towards the Measurable Objectives during years 1-4 and early trainee outcomes include: 1) Paid UG research opportunities via in-person or virtual programming provided 119 total positions for 61 unique UR individuals during academic year and summer sessions, with 49% participating in >1 session (academic year Research Club, academic year Research Internship, Summer Internship); 2) New formal and informal aging-related activities created or revamped/updated for trainees across the three partner sites (Research Club, lectures/seminars, didactic courses, discussion sessions focused on aging); 3) Short-term scholarly achievements include 31% trainee attendance/presentations at scientific meetings and 20% published an abstract of the ENGAGED research; 4) While 26 remain in UG training (100% MSTEM), 34 of 35 graduated (100% MSTEM BS/BA; 29% aging-related degrees). Longer-term early career outcomes indicate success of graduates: 59% plan a future career in BMS research, with 56% of those in aging/health disparities research; 35% entered MSTEM advanced degree programs (MD, PhD, MS, health professional programs; 4 MS degrees attained) and 9 more applying; ~80% are in the BMS workforce and/or advanced degree programs. Thus, ENGAGED is well-positioned to advance our objectives from a... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10849150 - **Project number:** 2R25AG060912-06 - **Recipient organization:** WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES - **Principal Investigator:** Tina E Brinkley - **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2024 - **Award amount:** $402,280 - **Award type:** 2 - **Project period:** 2019-07-15 → 2025-03-31 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849150 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849150, Enhancing UNderGraduate Education and Research in AGing to Eliminate Health Disparities (2R25AG060912-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849150. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*