# RCMI@Morgan: Center for Urban Health Disparities Research and Innovation

> **NIH NIH U54** · MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $384,930

## Abstract

Investigator Development Core – Project Summary
 The RCMI program’s objectives are to enable investigators to become more successful in obtaining competitive
extramural support from NIH, particularly for research into diseases that disproportionately impact minority and other
health disparity populations, and to foster environments conducive to career enhancement. The goal of the
RCMI@Morgan Investigator Development Core (IDC) is to support the development and enhance the competitiveness of
diverse investigators in basic biomedical, behavioral and/or clinical sciences, with particular emphasis on early-stage
investigators. The IDC’s activities will center on (1) the administration of a pilot grant program, (2) provision of additional
writing and research support, and (3) community building.
 Morgan State University’s (MSU) research faculty will be better positioned to be successful applicants for NIH
funding if they have been intentionally mentored on the steps and components of the research and grant application
process, experienced the review process, and, particularly, provided support for revision and resubmission. Further,
finding the time and the discipline to write is challenging in a teaching-intensive environment, and publishing research
findings in peer-reviewed journals is an important factor in future success in being awarded funding for research
proposals, and thus the IDC will convene Science Writing Accountability Groups (SWAGs), peer accountability groups
designed to increase productivity via weekly structured meetings.
 The high teaching load at MSU can have an isolating effect on our faculty. There seems to be little time for them
to attend research seminars on neighboring campuses, and scarce funds to travel to research conferences. Hence,
faculty have limited opportunities to build a network of collaborators, let alone acquire new research skills or become
familiar with new methodologies and equipment, which hinders faculty from using cutting-edge approaches in their
research. Early-career investigators, in particular, need to build robust academic research support networks to have
successful careers. A well-structured mentoring program for early career faculty and the opportunity for faculty summer
research partnerships and longer-term structured mentorships with faculty at research-intensive partner institutions will
help to address this deficit.
 An innovative aspect of MSU’s approach is to strategically encourage interdisciplinary conversation and
collaboration between social/behavioral scientists and basic researchers in STEM disciplines. Providing structured but
informal occasions for faculty focusing on health disparities research to network with each other and with bench
scientists will create opportunities for cross-fertilization of research ideas and approaches, and the potential to initiate
and strengthen research and writing collaborations, among faculty from MSU and from research partner institutions.
 The IDC’s a...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9986907
- **Project number:** 5U54MD013376-02
- **Recipient organization:** MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** CHRISTINE F HOHMANN
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $384,930
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9986907

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9986907, RCMI@Morgan: Center for Urban Health Disparities Research and Innovation (5U54MD013376-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9986907. Licensed CC0.

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