NHLBI Hosts Training Workshop for Health Equity Researchers
Photo: Rebecca Roper
NHLBI’s Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science recently partnered with several other NIH components and the HHS Office of Minority Health to conduct a workshop, “Training the Next Generation of Implementation Researchers for Health Equity.”
Health inequities research is crucial for making progress in eliminating preventable differences in outcomes for cardiovascular disease, blood disorders, mental health and diabetes.
At the workshop, more than 30 experts addressed best practices for designing training programs, enhancing participation and identifying mentors.
The workshop also featured the inaugural Dr. Elijah Saunders and Dr. Levi Watkins Memorial Lecture delivered by Dr. Lisa A. Cooper, James F. Fries professor of medicine and director, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity.
In addition to being remarkable cardiovascular specialists and visionaries for health equity, Saunders and Watkins were compassionate leaders committed to mentoring the next generation of medical doctors and researchers. The lecture and workshop honored their legacies.
“Many training programs emphasize knowledge-building, but need to incorporate skills-building to be more open-minded and better able to interact” in the context of community and stakeholder engagement, said Cooper. She also noted that the next generation of researchers should seek out multiple mentors and shared examples of support she received from numerous mentors during her career.
For more information about the workshop, contact Dr. Melissa Green Parker (melissa.greenparker@nih.gov) or Helen Hunter Cox (Helen.Cox@nih.gov).