HIV/AIDS disproportionally affects African-Americans: 47 percent of new infections are among this population and the death rate from HIV among this group is higher than any other.
APA's Cyber Mentors Program supports early career researchers, ideally from ethnic-minority groups, who are studying HIV among underserved communities. Established in 2008, the program pairs successful applicants with senior researchers for two years of one-on-one and group learning and mentoring.
"It's critically important that we train excellent scientists from affected groups, who are more likely to understand the contextual factors contributing to these disparities," says Ann O'Leary, PhD, a program steering committee member who works with the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cyber Mentor participants join online career development seminars on research methodology, ethics and administration with the ultimate goal of developing research proposals and securing federal funding. The psychologists submit their applications for a mock peer review, and can apply for up to $5,000 to help kick off their research efforts. Mentees also attend a workshop at APA's Annual Convention, where they're introduced to leaders in the field.
Training programs like Cyber Mentors go a long way in helping to diversify the cadre of independent scholars that receive federal funding, says Tiffany Townsend, PhD, director of APA's Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs. She cites a 2011 study in Scienceopens in new window that found National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant applications from white scientists were significantly more likely to be funded than those from black scientists.
"Training and mentoring programs are important, especially for minority scholars, but unfortunately they can be expensive for everyone involved, especially face-to-face meetings. We're piloting a new distance training model to increase training while reducing costs," she says.
The program has graduated 38 mentees. Among their applications for NIH grants, the agency funded 41 percent; to compare, the overall NIH grant success rate was 19 percent for 2014.
Cyber Mentors offers rolling admissions. To apply, go to CyberMentorsProgram.
— Stacy Lu
