IMPACT

​TRANSPORT provides a rigorous research training infrastructure that will produce a critical mass of trained health disparities investigators and career advancement. 

What is TRANSPORT?
TRANSPORT is a research training program that provides a foundation for growing and developing a diverse biomedical research workforce that positions SUNY Downstate as a national leader in translational disparities and population health research. Our efforts focus on recruiting and training underrepresented minority (URM) junior faculty, postdoctoral candidates and undergraduate students who come from Brooklyn and other communities that are vulnerable to health disparities.

Our 5 Principles

1. Establish a new Translational Program Of Health Disparities Research Training (TRANSPORT) that will support a range of research training initiatives from undergraduate pipeline programs, faculty development, and recruitment under BHDC.

2. Enroll 3 junior faculty candidates per year of endowment income, into a 2-year development program of TRANSPORT, leveraging the experience and success of PRIDE.

3. Enroll URM post-doctoral fellows who are identified as exceptional candidates and who are most likely to benefit from academic experience when matched with the most successful faculty investigators at Downstate. The endowment will support 2 fellows directly, full time for two years each, but other mechanisms will be used to support up to 6 fellows annually.

4. Expand partnerships with local colleges such as Medgar Evers College, where over 90% of students are URMs, to recruit 5 students in year 1, increasing by an additional 5 students each year, reaching 25 students/year in year 5 forward. These students will be enrolled into the Summer Program in Translational and Community Engaged Research (SPRINTER). SPRINTER will provide research opportunities in all 5 Colleges/Schools for undergraduate students and will greatly enhance pipelines into our schools, and ultimately into health disparities research.

5. Establish the Presidents Multi-disciplinary Investigator Seminar (PREMIS) series and an annual TRANSPORT interdisciplinary health disparities research symposium. These initiatives will greatly increase health disparities awareness and expand the range of research options offered by each of the colleges/Schools. This will enhance the academic environment and lead to opportunities for transdisciplinary collaborations in health disparities research.

Translational Program of Health Disparities Research Training