Deep South KUH Premier Research- Interdisciplinary Mentored Education (PRIME) Networking Core

NETWORK CORE SUMMARY In order to fully engage scholars at Augusta University, Tulane University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the Deep South KUH Premier Research and Inter-disciplinary Mentored Education (PRIME) program, it is necessary to provide opportunities for scholars to come together, in a supportive environment, to

cultivate meaningful interactions. The overall goal of the Network Core (NC) it to help scholars develop and maintain their professional networks and in doing so it will give them a solid foundation to establish roots in their scientific and healthcare communities. AIM 1: Develop networking activities that connect scholars with their

peers, role models, and mentors and provide the opportunity to enhance networking skill development including the optimal use of social media for professional engagement. The NC will host quarterly hybrid- format workshops by a networking expert to teach our scholars how to develop their professional brand and build

their networks. We will bring together scholars and role models/established faculty at our annual “Building the KUH community” symposium with events such as lunch with assigned seating. The NC will build the KUH novice, graduate student, postdoctoral/fellow, and early career peer groups where scholars will work together to host 1-

2 in person events and a virtual cross-institutional networking event annually. The NC will leverage current seminars and the new KUH PRIME Crosstalk virtual journal club and works in progress program to include gatherings with invited role models. All TL1-trainees will record a podcast in our Role Model Engagement

program that will be included in our quarterly digital newsletter and shared on our website and @KUHPRIME social sites. AIM 2: Engage in regional and national outreach and advocacy activities to increase networking opportunities and enhance the participation of a diverse cohort of scholars. The NC will

harness activities supported by our institutes’ advocacy groups and national organizations to develop approaches to increase awareness of the KUH PRIME and the importance of increasing diversity in training. The NC will establish the Personal Experiences in PRIME (PEP) outreach initiative with visits between PRIME

trainees and faculty and scholars in high schools, community colleges, and historically black colleges and universities near Augusta, GA, Birmingham, AL, and New Orleans, LA. These in person gatherings will introduce biomedical research and the benefits of a career in science or medicine to students who lack such exposure on

their local campus. The unifying vision is that the NC works closely with the TL1 and other training programs in our institutions to build and connect the membership of the KUH community, while the Professional Development Core develops the hard and soft skills of the membership to optimally position them for career success and

advancement. In doing so, the Deep South KUH Prime will meet our mission to develop a modern workforce of investigators in the Deep South who have the training and skills necessary to advance KUH health through science and medicine.