North carolina agricultural and technincal state university: research centers in minority institutions (RCMI) - overall core project summary minority ethnic groups bear a disproportionate burden of…

The National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities awarded a cooperative agreement totaling $3,905,789 to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University on August 4, 2026, under the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research program (CFDA 93.307).

The award funds the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program at NC A&T, which addresses the underrepresentation of minority ethnic groups in biomedical and behavioral research on brain health and cardiometabolic diseases. The program enhances research infrastructure for multidisciplinary work in brain health and cardiometabolic diseases, mentors investigators to secure competitive extramural funding, and engages minority communities in North Carolina to develop health disparity prevention and elimination strategies.

The funding supports two R01-scale research projects during the initial five-year cycle. A clinical and translational project identifies cardiometabolic biomarkers associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease risk in African American subjects, and develops cost-effective nanosensors and bioelectronic devices for early diagnosis and risk assessment. A behavioral intervention project implements culturally relevant interventions to promote healthy aging in African American subjects. The program also funds pilot projects focused on brain health and associated cardiometabolic diseases, and supports early-career investigator development.

Performance occurs in North Carolina, with a period of performance through February 28, 2031.

North carolina agricultural and technincal state university: research centers in minority institutions (RCMI) - overall core project summary minority ethnic groups bear a disproportionate burden of brain health disorders and chronic cardiometabolic diseases (CMDS) which contribute to cognitive decline; however, they have been underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral research studies, partly due to historical mistrust of researchers within their communities. The inclusion of these groups in studies focused on cognitive decline and related disease pathophysiologies, such as dementia and alzheimer's disease (ad), is severely limited. The RCMI program proposed by north carolina a & T state university (NC a & T) aims to address this issue by: (1) enhancing infrastructure for advancing multidisciplinary research in brain health and cardiometabolic diseases, (2) empowering and mentoring investigators at all levels to secure competitive extramural funding for research on brain health and cardiometabolic disease, and (3) engaging and expanding minority communities in north carolina to develop strategies for preventing and eliminating health disparities in brain health and cardiometabolic dysfunction. The RCMI at NC a & T will support two R01-scale research projects during the first 5-year cycle, each led by multidisciplinary research teams. The clinical/translational project aims to identify cardiometabolic biomarkers associated with cognitive decline and increased ad risk in AAS. IT will also develop cost effective nanosensors and bioelectronic devices for early diagnosis and/or assessment of ad risk and for evaluating therapeutic outcomes. The behavioral intervention project will implement a culturally relevant intervention to promote healthy aging in AAS. Additionally, the pilot project program will support the development of research projects focused on brain health and associated CMDS. To support the success of early career investigators in securing external funding, the investigator development core (IDC) will implement integrated professional development activities for pilot project program awardees, postdocs, and junior faculty. The research capacity core (RCC) will optimize the use of existing resources, acquire new equipment, and offer support services for design of innovative research projects and data analysis. The community engagement core (CEC) will partner with community stakeholders to advance health education and build trusting relationships, promoting BI-directional dissemination of information between researchers and minority communities in north carolina. The recruitment core will focus on our recently approved research cluster for nanotechnology applications in brain health research in the departments of nanoengineering, kinesiology, and psychology and will support the start-up packages for two senior faculty members to enhance mentoring of junior faculty in this emerging research field. Implementing the RCMI activities will position NC a & T as a leader in innovative health disparities research, with the capacity to train future researchers more effectively and engage diverse community stakeholders. Additionally, RCMI discoveries will contribute to the knowledge base on brain health and CMD.