P60 - Center of Excellence
The MACHE Center of Excellence will function with general oversight by the Administrative Core, and three operational cores: Research, Community Outreach and Research Training/Education as described in the Administrative Core (see Section B: Administrative Core). The cores will work synergistically to achieve the overall goals of the COE, with the focus on racial and ethnic disparities in diabetes prevention and control. The COE also includes two evidence-based and community-based prevention studies focused on African American and Hispanic/Latino communities led by MACHE faculty. Overall, the COE demonstrates the breadth of the expertise of the MACHE and the commitment to addressing diabetes health disparities.
The Research, Community Outreach and Research Training and Education Cores for the MACHE COE will work synergistically with overlapping objectives to achieve their aims. These activities will be conducted under the general oversight of the Administrative Core. This model is similar to the current operational structure of the MACHE. The two proposed research projects will operate under the direct supervision of the study investigators and the Research Core.
The proposed structure of the MACHE COE affords numerous opportunities for cross-collaboration to enhance efficiency and provide the maximum experience for our faculty and community partners. For example, our racial/ethnic minority junior faculty will become actively engaged with our community partners through the initiation or participation in community research projects and in participating in community events. The two research projects in the COE are community-based, and rely extensively on our relationships with our community partners for the development of the protocol, the recruitment of study participants and lay health advisors. We will collaborate with our community partners to disseminate the findings of our research projects through various venues in the community, and work within these venues to develop strategies to incorporate the findings of these studies into the community settings more broadly.