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August 28, 2024
UNITE-Inspired Initiatives Promote Inclusive Excellence in Health Outcomes and Research Funding
UNITE Co-Chairs’ Corner
UNITE continues to be a driving force for change, working to ensure that equity is at the core of biomedical and behavioral science research. In this update, we highlight two UNITE-inspired initiatives, which are helping to shape a more inclusive scientific environment at NIH and beyond.
UNITE Structural Racism and Health Workshop
Led by the N Committee, UNITE hosted a two-day Structural Racism and Health Workshop in July, bringing together hundreds of researchers, clinicians, and community partners to share knowledge from their research and practice. Through presentations, panel discussions, and breakout sessions, participants explored determinants of adverse health outcomes and strategies to address the health impacts of structural racism where it may exist.
By fostering collaboration across disciplines and sectors, NIH can better advance understanding of minority health and health disparities and identify interventions that improve equity in health outcomes and research funding. We encourage you to listen to the workshop discussions: day one and day two videocasts are available.
The EARA Pilot Project
The NIH Engagement and Access for Research-Active Institutions (EARA) is a navigation and communication-focused initiative that enhances outreach and connections between Research-Active Institutions (RAIs) and NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices.
Developed in response to a need identified by UNITE, EARA aims to address awareness and access barriers that RAIs face in enhancing research capacity and infrastructure, accelerating research progress, and addressing disparities in research opportunities and outcomes by connecting RAI faculty with NIH Institutes and Centers, Program Officers, and notices of funding opportunities.
A 2024–2025 EARA intensive engagement pilot project is now underway. It seeks to determine whether active information-sharing can accelerate engagement between RAIs and NIH, potentially leading to more grant applications and greater grant success for RAIs.
Approximately 50 RAIs volunteered to participate in the pilot project—far exceeding expectations. To accommodate this enthusiasm, the pilot was divided into three waves. The first wave, with 18 participating institutions, began in April. Wave 2 starts in September 2024 and Wave 3 is scheduled to start in early 2025. NIH recently held a virtual gathering of participating RAI faculty and NIH leadership to discuss the project’s initial successes and ways to enhance its effectiveness. The event was also a valuable platform for networking and knowledge-sharing among participants.
If all three waves of the pilot project yield robust evidence suggesting a positive impact, NIH will explore making some form of intensive engagement a more generalized service.
Above and beyond the intensive pilot, resources that may be available for RAIs have been assembled on the EARA webpage. The webpage is designed with the intent to be a portal into NIH opportunities for all interested in advancing research at RAIs. This will be an evolving resource, and RAI faculty and other interested researchers are encouraged to visit the site regularly and sign up for the EARA Info Plus newsletter.
Your Ideas and Energy
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has shared their ideas, energy, and passion to bring the Structural Racism and Health Workshop, EARA, and other UNITE initiatives to life. Your efforts and dedication have made UNITE a powerful catalyst for change within the biomedical and behavioral science research enterprise.
If you have been a regular follower of the UNITE Cochairs Corner, you will note that we have transitioned leadership. We are very grateful to Drs. Larry Tabak, Tara Schwetz, Alfred Johnson, and Noni Byrnes for their past leadership of UNITE. As we move forward into what we are envisioning as UNITE 2.0, we will be exploring other means of communicating UNITE developments. Thus, the UNITE Cochairs Corner may not come to your inbox in the future. However, you will hear from us by a variety of other means. If you have questions or concerns regarding UNITE developments, please do not hesitate to make outreach to uniteinitiative@od.nih.gov. And please regularly visit the UNITE webpage for the latest developments.
Authored by the UNITE Co-Chairs
This page last reviewed on August 30, 2024