# UK ASCEND (Achieving Success in Community-Engaged research to elimiNate Disparities)

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2024 · $603,001

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY– OVERALL
The University of Kentucky (UK) will establish Achieving Success in Community-Engaged research to elimiNate
Disparities (UK ASCEND), driven by one overarching objective--advancing health equity by promoting
community-engaged research (CER) success among ESIs from diverse backgrounds. We propose the
comprehensive ASCEND Scholars Program (ASP), a CER Training Program followed by a robust CER Pilot
Program, infused with bi-directional engagement with community stakeholders. Compelled to overcome the
extreme health disparities experienced by Kentucky’s rural (particularly Appalachian), Black, Hispanic, and
socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, the proposed Center of Excellence in Investigator Development and
Community Engagement is led by multiple principal investigators with complementary expertise and experience,
scaffolded by a well-resourced and committed university structure and leadership, and centered within longstanding
community partnerships. Housed in UK’s preeminent health equity research and training center, the Center for
Health Equity Transformation (CHET), UK ASCEND proposes the following aims: (1): Coordinate bold and
effective scientific leadership and governance, fiscal and regulatory management, communication and
dissemination strategies, and evaluation to assess key outcomes on CER training and success (Administrative
Core). (2): Cultivate community-engaged health equity research success among diverse early stage investigators
(ESIs) by immersing them into a productive research career advancement program, the ASCEND Scholars
Program, consisting of a three-component CER Training Program followed by an opportunity to deploy those skills
through a CER Pilot Program, within an environment of strong community partnerships and institutional strengths
(Investigator Development Core); (3): Catalyze and sustain long-standing bidirectional community stakeholder-ESI
research partnerships and translate findings into sustainable community and system-level changes that advance
health equity (Community Engagement and Dissemination Core). We will focus on three outcomes: ESI CER
career development, community engagement, and ESI research success. Informed by the NIMHD Research
Framework and the Institutional Model for Faculty Diversity Framework, UK ASCEND takes a comprehensive
orientation to mitigating health disparities by fostering authentic exchanges among community stakeholders,
researchers, providers, and policymakers. UK ASCEND has the motivation, vision, and capacity to contribute to
remediating the nation’s worst health disparities by providing comprehensive, rigorous, and inclusive CER training
essential for impactful scientific discovery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10899956
- **Project number:** 1P50MD019476-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** DARWIN LEWIS CONWELL
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $603,001
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-13 → 2029-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10899956

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10899956, UK ASCEND (Achieving Success in Community-Engaged research to elimiNate Disparities) (1P50MD019476-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10899956. Licensed CC0.

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