3133 Building Capacity for Community Engaged Research: Penn State University’s Faculty Fellowship Program

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: To build capacity for community engaged, translational research in faculty across the university. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Each year, the Community Engagement Research Core (CERC) of the Penn State CTSI invites applications for one to two Community Engagement Faculty Fellowships. Applicant teams are comprised of a junior or mid-level investigator seeking to expand their work into the CEnR arena under the mentorship of a senior investigator with expertise in community engaged scholarship. The fellow must develop a plan for the mentoring year, including a timeline, activities to be undertaken together, knowledge to be acquired, deliverables, and a budget. The funding supports two course releases or the clinical equivalent for the fellow, and a small budget to support the mentor’s research program. Proposals are evaluated using NIH scientific merit criteria. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We are in our second year of the fellowship program. Two highly qualified fellows are currently working with established community-based mentors. The 2017-2018 fellowship team showcases how an effective mentor-fellow partnership can help move a fellow’s work along the translational spectrum. By working with her mentor, our first fellow’s research has expanded from basic discovery science in a university hospital to development of a neonatal intensive care unit intervention to be employed with parents in the community. The 2018-2019 scholar, who utilized the community engagement research core (CERC) of the PSU CTSI in preparation of a PCORI grant, has since received the PCORI award and is working with her mentor to bring her innovative mental health screenings to the public schools. We are currently evaluating applications for the third year of the program, and please to have engaged applicants from across several Penn State campuses and disciplines. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: The fellowship is enjoying early success in terms of fellow productivity, expanding translational research expertise, and fueling interest across the Penn State campuses in community engagement research. Future work will focus on sustainability planning for this type of program, metrics for tracking success, and plans for integrating fellows into a growing community of engaged scholars at the university.