LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 21, 2024) – The Disparities Researchers Equalizing Access for all comMunities(DREAM) Scholars Program supports the training of exceptional pre-docs, post-docs, and assistant professors who are committed to health equity research.

During the two-year program, participants receive a solid foundation in career development and core human subjects research, with an emphasis on health equity research methods (e.g. community-based participatory research and dissemination and implementation).   Each participant works with a mentor to create an Individual Development Plan, and the community of other scholars provides exposure to multidisciplinary research and clinical and translational science.  Up to $5,000 in pilot funding ($2,500 yearly) and up to $3,000 of travel funds ($1,500 yearly) are provided. 

The DREAM is a collaboration of the CCTS, the UK College of Nursing, and the UK Center for Health Equity Transformation, which is directed by CCTS Associate Director Nancy Schoenberg, PhD. 

Congratulations to the 2024 DREAM Scholars:

• Cheavar Blair, PhD
  Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Physiology
  
  Project: Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocyte to Study Racial Inequities in Cardiac Cancer Drug Toxicity
  Mentor: Brian Delisle, PhD
   

• Shavonnie Carthens, JD
  Assistant Professor, J. David Rosenberg College of Law
  
  Project: Contaminated Wells: Safe Drinking Water, Legal Silence and Health Inequity in Rural Minority Communities
  Mentor: Zachary Bray, JD
   
• Morgan Jones, MD
  Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Department of Surgery
  
  Project: Racial Differences in Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: An Outcomes Analysis of Keynote-522 Patients
  Mentor: Pam Hull, PhD
   
• Oluwatosin Leshi, PhD
  Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine
  
  Project: Feasibility Study on the Use of Board-Games to Improve the Knowledge on the Prevention and Self-Management of Diabetes Among Underserved Households
  Mentor: Brittany Smalls, PhD
   
• Rayven Peterson, MS
  PhD Candidate, College of Education, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology
  
  Project: Cultural Mistrust Through the Lens of Emerging Black Adults
  Mentor: Candice Hargons, PhD
   
• Jillian Silva-Jones, MA
  PhD Candidate, College of Arts & Sciences, Experimental Psychology, Development, Social and Health Psychology
  
  Project: The Impact of Stress and Racial Identity on Sleep in Black Americans
  Mentor: Lauren Whitehurst, PhD
   
• Anna-Maria South, MD
  College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine
  
  Project: Educating Clinicians, Peer Support Specialists and Patients on the Americans with Disabilities Act
  Mentor: Michelle Lofwall, MD
   
• Xian Wu, PhD
  Postdoctoral Scholar, College of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics
  
  Project: Genetic Association Analyses of Longitudinal Cognitive Changes to Improve Research on Diverse Populations
  Mentor: Yuriko Katsumata, PhD

The project described was supported by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through grant number UL1TR001998.  The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.