摘要：The Miriam Hospital, Brown Medical School, and Jackson State University developed a joint training program for predoctoral, Black psychology students under the auspices of a training grant funded by the National Institutes of Health. The students in the program at Jackson State University had unlimited access to the clinical research resources and mentoring expertise at Brown Medical School. This innovative program began in 2001 and addresses the need for Black leaders in clinical research and academia who will focus on HIV and other infections that disproportionately affect the Black community. This collaboration has served as a bridge between an Ivy League institution and a historically Black university for training in clinical research to develop successful minority academicians. THE CONSTELLATION OF infectious diseases consisting of HIV, hepatitis B and C, sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis hits hardest in low-income, inner-city, and rural communities, which have a high prevalence of substance use and mental illness. 1 – 6 Members of these communities also suffer from fewer educational opportunities 7 , 8 ; higher rates of unemployment, 9 homelessness, 10 and physical violence 11 ; and less economic, social, and family support than do other American populations. 12 Residents of these communities are much more likely to be Black or Hispanic than White. 8 In 2005, approximately half (49%) of new HIV infections occurred among Blacks and 18% among Hispanics. 13 Similarly, the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis) and tuberculosis ranged from five to 17 times as high for Blacks as for Whites. 14 , 15 Among Hispanic populations, the incidence of sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis ranged from two to seven times as high as among Whites. 14 , 15 Despite the steady decline in hepatitis B rates across all racial/ethnic groups in the past decade, the incidence of hepatitis B still remains 2.6 times as high among Blacks as among Whites. 16 This heavy burden of infectious diseases requires innovative and focused efforts in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment in communities that are also suffering from high rates of mental illness and substance use. Approximately 40% of Black holders of doctoral degrees and 85% of Black medical doctors earned their undergraduate degrees from historically Black colleges and universities. 18 These institutions could significantly contribute to the development of innovative interventions for preventing and treating infectious disease in disenfranchised minority communities. 18 Increased investment in clinical research at historically Black colleges and universities could benefit communities throughout the country. Unfortunately, support from the federal government is severely deficient. From 1993 to 2002, total federal funding increased by 40% (adjusted for inflation) for all academic institutions nationally, but only 24% for historically Black institutions. 18 Here we describe a collaboration between two recipients of training grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse—the Miriam Hospital at Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island, and the Department of Psychology at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi—to train Black predoctoral students to carry out behavioral research on HIV and other infections associated with substance use. Although challenges were encountered in developing and maintaining the collaboration, it has succeeded in providing transdisciplinary opportunities to its participants.
