# UC San Diego FIRST Program

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2024 · $11,850

## Abstract

Abstract
A diverse faculty body enhances scientific discovery. Despite efforts to increase diversity, women, persons with
disabilities, and individuals from certain racial /ethnic groups remain underrepresented in the biomedical workforce.
Diversifying biomedicalresearch faculty is an ongoing challenge and a high-priority need. There are also barriers
to retention of underrepresented faculty and success which can include a lack of clarity around promotion criteria,
effective mentorship and formalfaculty development programs as well as perceptions of unwelcoming institutional
cultures and a lack of inclusivity. Thus, multiple evidence-based strategies are needed to enhance faculty
diversity, success and inclusion. Cluster hiring at academic institutions is an effective strategy for enhancing
faculty diversity. This strategy coupled with formal structured faculty mentorship, research and career
development programs improvefaculty competencies, enable success and can impact organizational culture.
Transforming institutional culture requires organized programs led by experienced faculty, administrators, staff,
and institutional leaders, with a shared vision of enhancing faculty diversity and inclusion. Such programs also
require institutional support and resources to ensure sustainability. The overall goal of the University of California,
San Diego (UCSD) Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Administrative Core
is to provide strategic leadership, management, and administrative oversight to support the UCSD FIRST Cohort
Program’s evidence-based strategies to recruit twelve new faculty, enhance FIRST participants’ academic
advancement, research success, and inclusive institutional excellence. We hypothesize that cluster hires within
four areas of institutionalresearch strength, neurosciences, cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease
and immunology, will provide affinity groups as the nidus of inclusive excellence. Immersion in structured
programs organized by theFaculty Development Core will provide direction in academic promotion resulting in
enhanced retention and academic success. We propose four specific aims: Aim 1. Provide management and
coordination to support theadministrative, communication, and fiscal components of the FIRST Cohort Program,
Aim 2. Establish and implement protocols for search, recruitment, and hiring of FIRST Cohort, Aim 3. Promote
FIRST cohort faculty impactful research productivity to meet retention expectations and Aim 4. Implement
strategic plan to foster institutional inclusive excellence and culture transformation. Working with the Evaluation
Core, the AdministrativeCore will leverage existing data on faculty perceptions of the research environment and
faculty development to establish metrics for the “baseline” and successful cultural transformation. These aims
will promote UCSD culture change towards inclusive excellence by using evidence-based strategies to enhance
underrep...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11073237
- **Project number:** 3U54CA272220-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Joann Trejo
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $11,850
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-09 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11073237

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11073237, UC San Diego FIRST Program (3U54CA272220-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11073237. Licensed CC0.

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