NIH PURPOSE

The MIRT Program at the National Institutes of Health was established to:
(1) increase the representation of socially or economically disadvantaged groups who have been historically underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral careers; and
(2) support the research training of students who will most likely contribute to the elimination of health disparities that exist among disadvantaged populations in the U.S.

GOALS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PROGRAM

1. To encourage undergraduate, graduate and/or health professions students who are from health disparities populations to pursue advanced degrees and careers in biomedical and behavioral research.

2. To enhance research skills, scientific training, career opportunities, international collaborative relationships, and global perspectives of undergraduate, graduate, and/or health professions students who are from health disparities populations.

3. To assist undergraduate, graduate, and/or health professions students who are from health disparities populations to participate in US and international faculty collaborative research initiatives.

4. To broaden students' research efforts and scientific training to encompass international perspectives on problems relating to health disparities in the US and in developing countries.

5. To stimulate faculty interaction, collaboration, and novel approaches to address closing the gap in health disparities among children in the US and in developing countries.

6. To facilitate research collaborations, research productivity, and research capacity in developing countries.

SPECIFIC TRAINING OBJECTIVES

• Provide students from health disparities populations with an intensive international research experience related to problems that differentially affect poor and minority children in the US and in developing countries;

• Expose trainees to models of high-quality research;

• Train students in critical review of the scientific literature, experimental design, current scientific methods, data analysis and interpretation;

• Provide instruction to trainees about responsible conduct of research, with special attention to developing countries;

• Familiarize trainees with cultural issues, including the culture of the host site, cultural diversity in the US, the experience of being an American in a foreign country, the comparison of health disparities in the US and abroad, and the importance of cultural factors in health and developmental problems of children;

• Provide experiences in the written and oral presentation of research studies;

• Disseminate research findings at the University of Michigan, and through appropriate scientific and professional channels, by presentations at scientific meetings, honors theses, doctoral dissertations, and publications where appropriate;

• Expose trainees to career options in biomedical and behavioral research related to disparities in child health and development;

• Create new opportunities for sustained independent, international research by graduate/
  medical students and faculty from health disparities populations;

• Foster scientific and career mentoring relationships between successful senior investigators, junior faculty, and students from health disparities populations;

• Link UM faculty studying health disparities in the US and investigators working on related problems in developing countries; Maintain and expand productive, enriching international collaborations in research and training for both the UM and the host sites.

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