# UNM FIRST: Promoting Inclusive Excellence in Neuroscience and Data Science - Administrative Supplement to support FIRST Faculty Travel

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO · 2024 · $5,725

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The NIH Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) initiative aims to transform
institutional culture by developing communities of biomedical researchers and supporting institutions that are
committed to increasing diversity and inclusive excellence. The University of New Mexico (UNM) is a Hispanic
Serving Institution, and a Carnegie Very High Research Activity institution. Thus, recruitment and retention of a
diverse biomedical faculty workforce aligns with the NIH mission and will promote inclusive excellence in a
majority-minority state. The UNM FIRST program is hiring nine early career faculty across six STEM
departments. The cohort will consist of two interdisciplinary clusters: neuroscience and data science. The
central hypothesis is that this model will successfully hire and retain a diverse cohort of early career faculty and
the changes implemented as part of UNM FIRST will support the enhancement of inclusive excellence
practices across UNM. The long-term goal is to increase the diversity of the NIH biomedical faculty workforce
while building on recent progress toward inclusive excellence in our institutional culture. Our specific aims are:
To recruit, promote, and retain a diverse cohort of biomedical faculty, and to systemically transform UNM’s
culture towards inclusive excellence. The UNM FIRST Leadership Team, which is comprised of five female
leaders at UNM, is working closely with the UNM Leadership. The latter includes an Institutional Innovation
Implementation Board (Senior Vice Provost, Vice President for Research, Associate Provost for Faculty
Success, College of Arts & Sciences Dean, and ADVANCE Director) that was created to support UNM FIRST
and is poised to work closely with the UNM FIRST Leadership Team. The significance of the UNM FIRST
program is that a diverse cohort of NIH-funded biomedical faculty devoted to inclusive excellence will achieve
success as UNM faculty, that UNM will become an institution where inclusive excellence is permanently
established, and that UNM faculty (including UNM FIRST faculty) will train the next generation of diverse NIH-
funded scientists. Importantly, this supplemental funding will provide support for the UNM FIRST faculty hires
to attend the annual NIH FIRST Annual Grantees Conference. The goals of UNM FIRST faculty participation in
this conference are to: extend their peer network and thereby increase collaboration and support opportunities,
facilitate their communication within this network about academic challenges faced and solutions reached,
increase their nationwide network among the participating program faculty (e.g., PIs/MPIs) and NIH staff, and
enhance their overall professional development.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11002852
- **Project number:** 3U54CA272167-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
- **Principal Investigator:** JANE ELLEN SMITH
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $5,725
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2024-04-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11002852

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11002852, UNM FIRST: Promoting Inclusive Excellence in Neuroscience and Data Science - Administrative Supplement to support FIRST Faculty Travel (3U54CA272167-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11002852. Licensed CC0.

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