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

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2024 · $414,596

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY- INVESTIGATOR DEVELOPMENT CORE
The Investigator Development Core (IDC) of UK ASCEND proudly proposes the ASCEND Scholar Program
(ASP) comprised of two transformative and linked opportunities to advance health equity by promoting
community-engaged research (CER) success among ESIs from diverse backgrounds. The ASP strategy was
influenced by two national evidence-based programs, UK institutional data, and a career development model
implemented in three UK ESI cohorts. Sixteen ESIs over four cohorts will be selected to become ASCEND
Scholars and engage in a three-component CER Training Program, followed by an opportunity to deploy their
skills through the CER Pilot Program. The CER Training Program includes multilevel mentorship, scientific and
social networking, and professional enrichment, followed by the CER Pilot Program. UK ASCEND’s CER Pilot
Program will provide the preliminary studies necessary for highly competitive NIH grant applications. To ensure
a pathway for continued inclusive research excellence, we also will offer CER Pilot Projects to eight
postdoctoral fellows in the first and fifth years of the award. Throughout the ASP and in conjunction with the
Community Engagement and Dissemination Core, ESIs will authentically interact with community stakeholders
to successfully undertake research that appropriately and impactfully addresses health disparities. The IDC
has the following aims: (1) Embed diverse health equity research-focused ESIs into the three-component CER
training program and (2) Implement a rigorous CER pilot project program that leads to collaborative and
sustainable interactions with community stakeholders and the successful dissemination of scholarly products,
including publications, presentations, and grant submissions, leading to research success. The IDC benefits
from strong leadership provided by Dr. Kevin Pearson, a senior-level NIH-funded translational researcher who
currently serves as Assistant Dean for Inclusive Research in the UK College of Medicine, Career Development
Leader for an NIH-funded environmental health center, and Director of the UK COBRE pilot program and Dr.
Shyanika Rose, an early-mid career community-engaged health equity researcher who serves as a near-peer
mentor, chairs the Research Committee for the Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET), and leads
CHET’s Health Equity Grant Programs. Our diverse, experienced, and complementary leadership
team will work to promote excellence in community-engaged health equity research through mentorship,
networking, and professional enrichment, followed by a CER pilot project that will serve as preliminary studies
for publications, presentations, and subsequent NIH grant submissions. Our long-term objective is to increase
the critical mass of early-stage investigators from diverse backgrounds exceptionally capable of undertaking
transformative CER that achieves health equity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10899958
- **Project number:** 1P50MD019476-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kevin Joseph Pearson
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $414,596
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-13 → 2029-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10899958

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10899958, 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/10899958. Licensed CC0.

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