Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Awards Rutgers Institute for Health Research $2.95 Million to Foster Diversity Among Future Health Researchers

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded a six-year, $2.95 million grant to continue support for Rutgers’ Project L/EARN, an intensive summer research training internship for undergraduates from groups that have been underrepresented in graduate schools and health research careers.

            The 10-week program is housed at Rutgers’ Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research (IHHCPAR), an interdisciplinary institute that provides faculty mentors for the sophomore and junior interns. Interns come from a range of academic disciplines, including economics, political science, psychology, public health, public policy, social work and sociology.

            The representation of low-income students, first-generation college attendees, and members of certain ethnic and cultural groups in health research is far below that of the general population, according to Diane Davis, Project L/EARN’s program director. The project aims to broaden the range of ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic perspectives. “Members of disadvantaged communities experience higher rates of health problems and worse access to health care,” Davis said. “It is important to include their viewpoints in research and policy about health and health disparities.”

            In the 17 years since its founding, Project L/EARN has helped dozens of students enroll in graduate school and launch successful careers in health research and academia in such fields as public health, psychology, social work, medical sociology, health law and medicine. To date, 52 Project L/EARN interns have earned or are working on master’s degrees and 37 are completing or have completed doctorates.

            Many students enter the program unaware of the career possibilities in health research or lacking the skills to undertake such careers, according to Research Professor Jane Miller of IHHCPAR and the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, who is the incoming co-director with Davis. “The interns will work closely with top-ranked faculty, conducting hands-on work on their mentor’s research while receiving rigorous training in research methods, statistics, ethics and writing,” Miller said.

            “The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is committed to increasing the diversity of individuals and perspectives in health services research to better serve the health needs of our country,” said Lori Melchar, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Project L/EARN is helping us meet this goal.”

            For the past 12 years, Peter Guarnaccia, IHHCPAR professor and chair of Rutgers’ Human Ecology Department, led Project L/EARN with funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. Interns’ research topics have included such areas as chronic illness, mental health, access to health care, children’s health and obesity.