Investigating SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Hesitancy in Houston

ABSTRACT The proposed RCMI HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention is designed to establish a national exemplar for how community-engaged research can accelerate scientific breakthroughs that can be rapidly disseminated and implemented directly into the targeted community by trained laypersons or paraprofessionals. This will be achieved by the successful completion of five specific aims: Aim 1. Execute a centralized Research Infrastructure Core that will enhance scientific rigor, productivity, and impact of health-equity science through five primary services: (1) Research Methodology; (2) Laboratory Techniques and Facilities; (3) Data Management and Biostatistics; (4) Health Informatics; and (5) Responsible Conduct of Research, Ethics, and Compliance in health-disparities research; Aim 2. Execute a group mentoring program in the Administrative Core that provides data-driven career enhancement activities for underrepresented minority (URM) postdoctoral fellows and assistant professors pursuing careers in health-equity science; Aim 3. Strategically increase the application and success of investigators - underrepresented in the health sciences - securing competitive NIH research grants through the Pilot Grant Program and Innovation Research Talks administered by the Investigator Development Core; Aim 4. Leverage the Community Engagement Core to facilitate equitable, collaborative, and sustainable partnerships with community members, organizations, and stakeholders to enable a bidirectional "exchange of information" that advances the potential impact of research findings for achieving health equity; and Aim 5. Promote research on minority health and health disparities by disseminating RCMI outcomes through publicly available peer-reviewed publications, presentations, white papers, policy briefs, and other materials, activities, or services disseminated into the community. This transformative infrastructure - in partnership with UH administrators, community members, stakeholders, organizations, and elected officials - provides a sustainable data-driven approach for saving lives and preventing addictions and cancer from disproportionally afflicting marginalized and underserved communities in metropolitan Houston and beyond.