Carver Genomic Research Center (CGRC)-Building Next Generation Genomic Data Scientist in Rural Alabama

Project Summary The establishment of a Diversity Center for Genomic Research at Tuskegee University is driven by a comprehensive objective: to advance, support and maintain research, education, and workforce capacity in the rapidly expanding field of genomics. The Carver Genomic Research Center (CGRC) aims to enhance research, education, and workforce capacity in the field of

genomics, specifically focusing on building the next generation of genomic health scientists and workforce in rural Alabama. The center's vision includes innovation and catalyzing the following; 1) A robust genomic educational and research program dedicated to educating, sustaining, and nurturing the next generation of the genomic science workforce, fostering diversity contributions

to the university’s mission, 2) the advancement of genomic scientific enquiries through expanding the infrastructure and facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration for genomic research, 3) the professional development of a faculty engaged in genomic research, and 4) community-based activities and research that promote awareness and active participation of the local community

in genomic research. This initiative will be carried out in two phases, Phase 1 and Phase II. Phase I initiative is the planning phase aiming at the development of 1) Genomic infrastructure; 2) Community Engagement and Outreach; 3) Partnership and Collaboration; and 4) establishing an oversight and governance structure. The Phase II will be the implementation phase focused on

implementation of the full-scale diversity center consisting of three cores; 1) Administrative; 2) Genomic Workforce Development and3) Community Engagement. The goal of the CGRC will be accomplished through establishment of three synergistic research cores, with services to enable investigative research on health inequities among minority groups, especially African-Americans

residing in the ‘Black Belt’ counties of Alabama. The three proposed research projects have research objectives focused on diseases related to health disparity and involve cutting-edge research activities in genomics, contributing to scientific advancements and discoveries in the field. Tuskegee University has distinctive strengths because it is located in the heart of the

Southeast, a region with a large, historically underserved, African American population, and it has a large number of minority faculty members as well as undergraduate and graduate trainees.