Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) (U54 - Clinical Trial Optional)
Funding Agency:
- National Institutes of Health
NIH Interest in Diversity
Every facet of the United States scientific research enterprise—from basic laboratory research to clinical and translational research to policy formation–requires superior intellect, creativity and a wide range of skill sets and viewpoints. NIH’s ability to help ensure that the nation remains a global leader in scientific discovery and innovation is dependent upon a pool of highly talented scientists from diverse backgrounds who will help to further NIH's mission (see NOT-OD-20-031). This funding opportunity provides support for participating RCMI institutions to facilitate the development of research capacity, research education of students, and the ability of faculty to pursue basic biomedical, behavioral, population and/or clinical/health services research, including but not limited to research related to minority health and health disparities.
Programmatic Approach
The primary goals of RCMI specialized center awards are to: (1) enhance institutional research capacity to conduct world-class basic biomedical, behavioral, population and/or clinical/health services research; (2) enable all levels of investigators at the recipient institution to become more successful in obtaining competitive extramural support, especially from NIH, for research on diseases and conditions that disproportionately impact populations that experience health disparities; (3) foster institutional environments conducive to research career development and enhancement for post-doctoral fellows, junior faculty, and other early-stage investigators; (4) enhance the tools for and conduct of research generally and specifically for improving minority health and reducing health disparities; and (5) establish sustainable partnerships with community-based organizations to promote research efforts and the dissemination of research findings.
Centers are expected to support research projects with an explicit focus on one or more of the following scientific areas: basic biomedical research, behavioral research or population science, and clinical/health services research. Projects in the behavioral or population science and clinical/health services research focus areas are expected to emphasize minority health and health/healthcare disparities. Accordingly, such projects must include a focus on the health of one or more racial or ethnic minority groups that experience health and or health care disparities: Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, and persons who identify as being of more than one race. All studies on racial or ethnic minority populations must also include a focus of socioeconomic status. Other NIH-designated populations with health disparities, medically underserved or rural populations, and sexual and gender minorities, may also be included from the intersectional perspective of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. The basic biomedical research focus area does not have this requirement.
Information about the research priorities of NIMHD is available at the following link: NIMHD Research Framework, https://nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/research-framework/nimhd-framework.html. Minority health refers to distinctive health characteristics and attributes of racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. Minority health research is the scientific investigation of these distinctive health characteristics and attributes. Research may focus on risk or protective factors for conditions where outcomes may be worse or better, respectively, compared to the general population, including projects that evaluate mechanisms and interventions to sustain or improve a health advantage. Research may also examine mechanisms and develop and evaluate interventions to reduce health and/or health care disparities within a particular group (or within a health care setting providing care), defined as a health difference that adversely affects disadvantaged populations based on one or more of the following categories of health outcomes:
- Higher incidence/prevalence
- Higher prevalence of risk factors, unhealthy behaviors, or clinical measures in the causal pathway of a disease outcome
- Poorer health related quality of life and/or daily functioning using standardized self-report measures
- Premature and/or excessive mortality in diseases where populations differ
- Burden of disease measured by metrics such as Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYS)
- Health services outcomes related to inadequate or suboptimal or untimely access and quality of health care for medical and/or surgical conditions including hospitalization and use of services
Minority health and health disparities research is a multi-disciplinary field of study devoted to gaining greater scientific knowledge about the influence of health determinants and defining mechanisms that lead to disparities in outcomes and how this knowledge is translated into interventions to reduce or eliminate adverse health differences.
The RCMI program allows flexibility at the applicant institution with respect to the types of research resources required to accomplish research and investigator development goals. The most important criterion for inclusion of any component in the proposed Center is the extent to which the activity or resource will enable the institution to achieve the stated goals.
Center budgets are limited to $3,500,000 in annual direct costs, excluding alterations and renovation (A&R) costs in year 1 (see below) and recruitment costs in two designated years
December 18, 2023
Nathan Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
Telephone: 301-594-8704
Email: stinsonn@mail.nih.gov