Engaged: disability community engaged medical rehabilitation research center - modified project summary/abstract section the engaged medical rehabilitation research center (MRRC) is a BI-institutional…

The University of Illinois at Chicago received a $1,351,969 Project Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), awarded on September 9, 2025, with completion anticipated by August 31, 2030. The award funds the ENGAGED Medical Rehabilitation Research Center (MRRC), a bi-institutional collaboration between the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Texas Health Houston/TIRR that delivers a comprehensive infrastructure for community-engaged rehabilitation research (CENR). The center establishes a national infrastructure supporting meaningful community engagement in medical rehabilitation research, provides technical assistance and consultative support to researchers on community-engaged best practices, and generates new knowledge on community engagement through original research using appreciative inquiry methodology. Additionally, the center advances multidisciplinary observational, experimental, and implementation research involving individuals with long-term disabilities to promote improved health and participation outcomes.

Under a sub-award effective March 23, 2026, Memorial Hermann Health System participates in the initiative through its TIRR Memorial Hermann facility, with Vinh Nguyen serving as Site Principal Investigator for the ENGAGED MRRC Resource Core. Mr. Nguyen coordinates resource development and dissemination activities through the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) department, provides feedback on research core recruitment activities, and supports the overall research objectives of the center. The center's three synergistic cores and multi-phase community-based participatory research project, guided by multidisciplinary leadership and both internal and community advisory boards, address social determinants of health and evidence-informed interventions to support improved outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Engaged: disability community engaged medical rehabilitation research center - modified project summary/abstract section the engaged medical rehabilitation research center (MRRC) is a BI-institutional collaboration between the university of illinois chicago and the university of texas health houston/tirr, developed in close collaboration with the national disability community and medical rehabilitation research (MRR) organizations. Through cross-partnerships, research teams, and project cores, including shared resources and infrastructure, as well as cross-disciplinary project staff, we will advance the national MRR infrastructure to support rigorous community-engaged research (CENR) in ways that would not be possible with any single institution or investigator acting alone. The advancement of the science of CENR for and with the disability community is supported by the three synergistic cores and a multi-phase community-based participatory research project. With leadership from an exceptional multidisciplinary team and guidance from our internal and community advisory boards, we will accomplish the following overall specific aims: aim 1: establish a national infrastructure to support meaningful community engagement in MRR to support the CO-creation and dissemination of research to support the development of evidence-informed interventions to address social determinants of health. Aim 2: network with new and established researchers through the provision of technical assistance and consultative support on best practices for community-engaged rehabilitation research. Aim 3: generate new knowledge on community engagement through the conduct of original research grounded in the appreciative inquiry process. Aim 4: advance multidisciplinary observational, experimental, and implementation research that intentionally involves people with long-term disabilities, promoting improved health and participation outcomes through pilot funding to support CENR and partnership building. Aim 5: generate and curate state-of-the-science knowledge products on community engagement for disability and MRR communities that will be shared through our newsletter, social media, and on our website. Aim 6: empower disability communities to engage in medical rehabilitation research through the provision of training programs and peer mentorship. Aim 7: disseminate best practices through a quarterly seminar series and national symposium on community engaged scholarship for the disability and MRR community. People with lived experience of long-term disabilities are integrated into all elements and components of the engaged MRRC as research and core leaders, as paid research personnel and consultants practicing in their areas of professional expertise, while simultaneously leveraging insights from their lived experiences to enhance relevance and innovation. Innovation: the engaged MRRC will utilize state-of-the-science CENR approaches, integrated knowledge translation, and extreme citizen science to advance the science of CENR and generate and disseminate new knowledge about the impact of social determinants of health on individuals with lived experiences of disabilities, thereby identifying intervention targets for medical rehabilitation researchers.