We seek to achieve significant improvements in metrics of institutional culture and biomedical research workforce diversity.

The FIRST program will test the primary hypothesis that a cohort model of faculty hiring, sponsorship, continual mentoring, and support for professional development, embedded within an institution implementing evidence-based practices to create academic cultures of inclusive excellence, will achieve significant improvements in metrics of institutional culture and biomedical research workforce diversity.

Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC)

The overall objective of the FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC) at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM), is to conduct a comprehensive evaluation grounded in realist evaluation theory, by collaborating with FIRST Cohort awardees to iteratively assess the impact of key institutional culture change strategies and other innovative approaches implemented at FIRST Cohort sites to promote inclusive excellence.

The FIRST CEC Investigators collectively have over 100 years of national consortia management, research and mentoring collaboration with expertise in Coordination and Management of large research networks, Data Management, Evaluation, Dissemination and Communication, including experience leading the Research Centers at Minority Institutions (RCMI) Coordinating Center (CC); the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN); the Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA); the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) and Partnerships to Advance Cancer Health Equity (PACHE). These assets and the team’s expertise uniquely position MSM to lead the FIRST CEC.

Elizabeth Ofili, MD, MPH

Morehouse School of Medicine

Contact Principal Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Brian Rivers, Ph.D., MPH

Morehouse School of Medicine

Multi-Principal Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Alexander Quarshie, MD, MS

Morehouse School of Medicine

Director of Informatics/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Mohamed Mubasher, Ph.D., MA

Morehouse School of Medicine

Senior Biostatistician/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Muhammed Idris, Ph.D.

Morehouse School of Medicine

Data Scientist/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Daniel Sarpong, Ph.D.

Yale University

Lead Evaluator/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Yulia Strekalova, Ph.D., MBA

University of Florida Gainesville

Co-Lead Evaluator/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Douglas Landsittel, Ph.D.

Indiana University

Data Management/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Maritza Salazar Campo, Ph.D.

University of California Irvine

Organizational Learning/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Linda Pololi, MBBS

Brandeis University

Lead, C-Change Faculty Survey/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Tay McNamara, Ph.D.

Brandeis University

C-Change Faculty Survey/Co-Investigator, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Mohamad Malouhi

Jackson State University

Senior Software Engineer

Kimberly Lawson, MPH

Morehouse School of Medicine

Project Director, FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Geannene Trevillion, CRA

Morehouse School of Medicine

Director of Budget/Finance,
FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Megan Carter, MPH

Morehouse School of Medicine

Research Assistant,
FIRST Coordination and Evaluation Center

Contact First CEC

FIRST Program Committees

The FIRST Program is governed by an Executive Steering Committee, which has representation by principal investigators from each cohort awardee institution as well as NIH Program Officers and Project Scientists.

FIRST Executive Steering Committee (FESC)

The FESC is the governing body of the FIRST Program. The FESC is composed of the PI/MPI of the FIRST CEC; PI/MPIs of each FIRST awardee institution, and Program Officers and Project Scientists from across NIH institutes and centers (ICs). The FESC has a rotating Chair and Co-Chair elected annually by awardee institutions.

FIRST CEC Steering Committee (SC)

The CEC Steering Committee comprises NIH Project Scientists and NIMHD Program Officers.

FIRST Program Working Groups

The FIRST Program Working Groups have representation from each cohort awardee institution and are organized by the CEC to implement various deliverables of the FIRST Program.

FIRST PI/MPI Working Group (PI/MPI WG)

The PI/MPI WG working group is comprised of the contact PIs and the MPIs of cohort awardee institutions working in collaboration with the CEC on FIRST program policies, including Data Sharing Agreement and Publication policy.

FIRST Data and Evaluation Working Group (DE WG)

The DE WG consists of the evaluators, data scientists, and biostatisticians from the cohort awardee institutions and the CEC. This group collaborates to develop common data elements of the evaluation plan, as well as implementation process. The group provides feedback to the CEC on the REDCap data collection instrument and Dataverse data sharing platform.

FIRST Faculty Development Working Group (FD WG)

The FD WG consists of faculty core directors from Cohort institutions. The CEC MPI works collaboratively with the group to share best practices on faculty career advancement and tenure process. The Health Equity (EQ) Learning Collaboratory will support peer to peer engagement and collaboration among FIRST Cohort faculty.

FIRST Communications and Dissemination Working Group (CD WG)

The CD WG facilitates a community of practice (CoP) in inclusive excellence (IE), both institutionally and nationally. The CD WG will inform and guide the implementation of the FIRST Cohort CoP. FIRST Program publications and presentation policy will encourage and facilitate the development of high-impact, rigorous program products while ensuring the appropriate use of data, timely completion of projects, and adherence to the principles of responsible authorship. The FIRST Program website, and the Consortium wide annual meeting will support dissemination. The Louis W. Sullivan Award to an Institution for Inclusive Excellence, and the Donald E. Wilson Award to a FIRST Cohort scholar, will recognize a sustained commitment to IE and the scientific advancement of health equity.

FIRST Program Governance Model

Funding Partners

National Institutes of Health Common Fund

FIRST program funding comes from the NIH Common Fund. Common Fund programs address emerging scientific opportunities and pressing challenges in biomedical research that no single NIH Institute or Center can address on its own, but are of high priority for the NIH as a whole. The Common Fund is a unique resource at NIH, functioning as a “venture-capital” space where high-risk, innovative endeavors with the potential for extraordinary impact can be supported.

With a strong level of enthusiasm generated within NIH, additional funding was made available through several additional NIH institutes, centers, and offices.

NIH Fogarty International Center

National Cancer Institute

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

National Institute of Mental Health

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

National Institute on Aging

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

National Institute of Nursing Research

Office of the Director