# Catalyzing Systemic Change at Drexel University to Support Diverse Faculty in Health Disparities Research - Administrative Supplement

> **NIH NIH U54** · DREXEL UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $18,725

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
In response to the NIH U54 Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Program
(RFA-RM-20-022), Drexel University proposes to establish a robust, transformative and sustainable program to
support diverse early career scientists engaged in health disparities research spanning population science to
intervention research. This proposal, a collaboration across Drexel University led by Drexel’s Dornsife School
of Public Health and College of Nursing and Health Professions, leverages our nationally and internationally
recognized NIH and other extramurally supported research, our community-based clinical practices serving
diverse, underserved communities, and our shared core values of social justice and health equity guiding our
pedagogy, research and hiring practices. Our proposal also strongly reflects Drexel University’s unwavering
commitment and newly instituted strategic goals to promote inclusive excellence and ensure diversity, equity,
retention, and promotion across for diverse faculty across their career pathways. Our proposed program will
create a collaborative structure involving multi-level inputs from University leaders, academic units and faculty
to catalyze sustainable institutional change that supports scientific and inclusive excellence in the conduct of
health disparities research. With support from the FIRST program, we will hire and mentor a diverse (gender,
race, ethnicity) group of 10 early-stage faculty in three clusters who are competitive for tenure-track research
positions with joint or secondary appointments across relevant departments, programs, or colleges, Using
evidence-based, multi-level mentorship strategies at the individual, department, college and university levels,
we will form a scientifically rigorous and supportive learning community in which FIRST faculty will engage in
individual and group activities leading to submissions of competitive NIH R01 research proposals. FIRST
faculty will be hired who are committed to diversity and whose research addresses one of 3 pillars of health
disparities research: detecting (defining/measuring health disparities), understanding (identifying determinants
of disparities), and/or reducing (intervene, evaluate, translate, scale, policy) health inequities in cross-cutting
thematic areas (aging, chronic disease, and/or environmental determinants). Developing and supporting a
cadre of diverse researchers has been identified as an evidence-based strategy for advancing new
methodologies, measures, and novel multi-level/multi-modal interventions that address inequities and improve
individual and population health outcomes. We will deploy a multi-level and multi-methods evaluative approach
guided by critical and intersectionality theories to evaluate nuanced experiences of bias and structural
discriminatory practices as well as program successes at the individual, department, mentor, college and
University levels of achieving inclusive excelle...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11017489
- **Project number:** 3U54CA267735-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** DREXEL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ana Victoria Diez Roux
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $18,725
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-09-21 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11017489

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11017489, Catalyzing Systemic Change at Drexel University to Support Diverse Faculty in Health Disparities Research - Administrative Supplement (3U54CA267735-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-10 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11017489. Licensed CC0.

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