Key Dates

• Application Deadline: August 16, 2024
• Anticipated Notification Date: September 16, 2024
• Anticipated Start Date: October 1, 2024
• Internship Duration: 6-months

RCASIA Overview

RCASIA is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and aims to generate sharable resources that supports research on the diagnosis and care of Asian and Pacific Americans with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). RCASIA also seeks to help train the next generation of Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs), including research scientists who are underrepresented in AD/ADRD-related Behavioral, Social, and Economic Research.

Important Terms

• Early-Stage Investigators- A Program Director / Principal Investigator (PD/PI) who has completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award, as defined by (NIH).
• Minority Serving Institution- The term “minority institution” means an institution of higher education whose enrollment of a single minority or a combination of minorities exceeds 50 percent of the total enrollment, as defined by United States Code, 2011 Edition.

Internship Purpose

• ESIs based in Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) have experienced limited mentorship available to help them build a robust application for AD/ADRD pilot research. This contributes to fewer research proposal submissions from minoritized ESIs from MSIs, and less AD/ADRD funded research led by minoritized ESIs.

• To mitigate this gap, we have developed an internship model to increase exposure of MSI ESIs to potential mentors at RCASIA parent and affiliated institutions, to provide mentorship support. Please note that only (5) early-stage investigators will be selected for the RCASIA Internship.

Eligibility

This internship is open to early-stage investigators at MSI’s in NJ & NY who meet the following criteria:

• Individuals who are American Indian or Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander. We also highly encourage Vietnamese or Filipino-identifying individuals to apply.
• Early-Stage Investigator interested in research in the field of Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias?
• Completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award, as defined by (NIH).

Addition Eligibility:

• American Indian or Alaska Native, Black/African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander. We also highly encourage Vietnamese or Filipino-identifying individuals to apply.
• Individuals with disabilities
• Individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds
• Women at the graduate level and beyond in scientific fields

The NIH (National Institute of Health) defines individuals with disadvantaged backgrounds as those who meet two or more of the following criteria:

• Were or currently are homeless, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
• Were or currently are in the foster care system, as defined by the Administration for Children and Families
• Were eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program for two or more years
• Have/had no parents or legal guardians who completed a bachelor’s degree (see First-Generation and Continuing-Generation College Students: A Comparison of High School and Postsecondary Experiences)
• Were or currently are eligible for Federal Pell grants
• Received support from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) as a parent or child
• Grew up in one of the following areas: a) a U.S. rural area, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Health Grants Eligibility Analyzer, or b) a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-designated Low-Income and Health Professional Shortage Areas (qualifying zip codes are included in the file). (Only one of these two possibilities can be used as a criterion for the disadvantaged background definition)

Application Requirements

• Submit a proposal statement of 150 words or less describing the career objectives and interest in AD/ADRD research
• Submit (2) two Letters of recommendation from two people familiar with your professional interests and scholarly achievements.
• NIH biosketch

Intern Responsibilities

• Attend all monthly meetings including
  • Monthly Pod meetings
  • Quarterly Team meetings
  • Yearly Scientific Retreat

• Submit monthly progress reports to the RCASIA Team that will include:
  • Brief reflection on experience
  • Updates on academic/scholarly achievements and/or products, including:
    • Publications (manuscripts in-progress, under review, commentaries, etc.)
    • Conference presentations (abstracts submitted)
    • Grant or award applications
    • Other recognition (awards, speaker invitations, faculty promotions, etc.)
• Identify and connect to potential mentors, by close of internship.

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Completed Applications should be submitted via email to  RCMAR@ifh.rutgers.edu

Application Deadline: August 16, 2024