Community Engagement Core

Abstract: The premise of the Community Engagement Core (CEC) is to advance the science of community engagement toward increasing African American (AA) and Hispanic communities’ participation in genomic research. Specifically, the CEC will implement a ‘community-centered’ multi-level and multi-domain participant-

centric strategy to engage AA and Hispanic communities a) in the development of culturally appropriate interventions for genomic education; b) to promote their recruitment and retention in genomics research; and c) facilitate the translations and dissemination of study results. Advances in genomics have increased our

understanding of the unique interplay between genetics, environment, behavior, and disease, which has led to the advancement of clinical-trial matching and precision health (medicine and prevention). However, these scientific advances are hampered by the inadequate representation of AA and Latinx populations in genomic

research studies; thus, it is paramount to identify effective engagement strategies to increase genomic knowledge and research participation among AA and Latinx populations. To achieve the specific aims, the CEC will train an existing cadre of lay community navigators as genomic navigators (GNs) to deliver relevant education

and provide navigation services, to two populations historically underrepresented in genomic research. Collaborate with Administrative Core to establish Community Advisory Board; Implement quarterly community education events calendar; Elucidate pre-conception exposures of concern for project 1; Support translation of

Study results for dissemination; Collaborate with Workforce Development Core in early education pipeline activities and participate in the presentation of Study findings to community stakeholders.