RING Program: The CFAR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pathway Initiative

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)/University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center in Cleveland, OH, and the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) in Pittsburgh, PA, forged a strategic alliance to form the Rustbelt Center for AIDS Research. The Rustbelt Center for AIDS Research developed a National Institutes of Health-supported diversity, equity, and inclusion pathway initiative termed the "Rustbelt Investigators for the Next Generation (RING) Program" that provides research training experiences for Puerto Rican students that will help them pursue a biomedical research career in HIV.

The RING Program provides 10-week research training experiences in different disciplines of HIV/AIDS for under-represented minority undergraduate and masters students from 4 campuses (Río Piedras, Mayagüez, Humacao, and Cayey) at the University of Puerto Rico. Mentors are drawn from both CWRU and Pitt.

The RING Program recently completed our first wave of recruitment. Recruitment sessions were either virtual or on site at the University of Puerto Rico campuses and included an overview presentation, a Q&A session, and in-person interviews. We interviewed 32 eligible applicants and accepted 10 into the program, of which 9 were female. Five students were matched with faculty at CWRU and 5 with faculty at Pitt.

The RING Program is a comprehensive program in laboratory and implementation science that aims to enhance under-represented Hispanic undergraduate and masters students' passion for pursuing a biomedical research career in HIV.