National Institute of
General Medical Sciences

The Diversity Program Consortium (DPC) Dissemination and Translation Awards (DaTA) initiative is designed to broaden the consortium’s national impact. The DPC DaTA initiative provided an opportunity for primarily undergraduate institutions not part of the DPC Phase I to apply for funding to take a rigorous scientific approach to understanding the effectiveness of a biomedical research training, mentoring, or research capacity building intervention by employing DPC experimental methods (see DPC data elements/survey instruments and hallmarks of success).

Funded programs:

• Conduct hypothesis-driven research;
• use rigorous DPC methods for evaluation (e.g., the use of matched controls and/or comparison groups); and,
• disseminate the results to inform the biomedical community on what factors enhance diversity in the biomedical research workforce and why those factors have an influence.

Research results are expected to move beyond participation satisfaction, self-reporting of perceived skills gained, or self-reporting of effectiveness. Accordingly, the interventions are to be centered not only on psychosocial factors but also on outcomes.

The interventions should:

• Inform the field about the effectiveness of the duration, frequency, and intensity of the intervention and whether those effects can be enhanced by reinforcement sessions;
  
• provide the scientific community with sound evidence of short-, medium-, and long-term effects of the efficacy of the interventions; and,
• be cost-effective, practical, realistic, scalable, and sustainable at a broad range of institutions.

Eligible institutions included:

• Domestic associate's degree-granting and/or baccalaureate degree-granting colleges/universities (not professional schools) that received an average of NIH research project grant funding of less than $7.5 million total costs per year over the past 3 fiscal years; and,
• have at least 25 percent of undergraduate students supported by Pell grants.

These awards are cooperative agreements, which means that there is substantial federal scientific or programmatic involvement. NIH scientific and/or program staff assist, guide, coordinate, and participate in the project activities.

Application budgets were limited to $250K with no funds allowable for alterations and renovations, large equipment, and student financial support.

Projects at seven institutions were funded:

• Initiative to Enhance Diversity in the Biomedical Research Workforce at CSU Channel Islands, at California State University, Channel Island
  PI: Sonsoles de Lacalle, MD, PhD
  sonsoles.delacalle@csuci.edu
• Families for STEM Success, at California State University, San Marcos
  PI: Anna Woodcock, PhD
  woodcock@csusm.edu
• Investigating Family Support Interventions for Freshmen, at Delaware State University
  PI: Melissa Harrington, PhD
  mharrington@desu.edu
• HU-CHEM: Deploying evidence-based interventions in Chemistry at Hampton University to plug leaks in the biomedical training pipeline, at Hampton University
  PI: Oluwatoyin Asojo, PhD
  oluwatoyin.asojo@hamptonu.edu
• An Adaptation and Evaluation of an Entrepreneurial Research Training Model in Hawai’i: The HUI SRC, at Hawai’i Pacific University
  PI: Halaevalu Vakalahi, PhD, MSW, M.Ed.
  hvakalahi@hpu.edu
• Enhancing Career Development of HBCU Biomedical Researchers: Extended Training in Grantsmanship and Mentoring, at Savannah State University
  PI: Chellu Chetty, PhD
  chettyc@savannahstate.edu
• The University of Puerto Rico at Cayey METAS+: Maintaining, Engaging, and Tracking Alumni in Science and Health Research, at the University of Puerto Rico Cayey University College
  PI: Isar P. Godreau Santiago, PhD
  isar.godreau@upr.edu

For more information about the DPC DaTA program, see the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, RFA-RM-19-003, or contact Dr. Anissa J. Brown at anissa.brown@nih.gov, or Dr. Edgardo Falcón-Morales at edgardo.falcon@nih.gov.