Advancing workforce diversity by leveraging the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program.
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2023-01
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Clinical trials continue to disproportionately underrepresent people of color. Increasing representation of diverse backgrounds among clinical research personnel has the potential to yield greater representation in clinical trials and more efficacious medical interventions by addressing medical mistrust. In 2019, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a Historically Black College and University with a more than 80% underrepresented student population, established the Clinical Research Sciences Program with support from the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program at neighboring Duke University. This program was designed to increase exposure of students from diverse educational, racial, and ethnic backgrounds to the field of clinical research, with a special focus on health equity education. In the first year, the program graduated 11 students from the two-semester certificate program, eight of whom now hold positions as clinical research professionals. This article describes how leveraging the CTSA program helped NCCU build a framework for producing a highly trained, competent, and diverse workforce in clinical research responsive to the call for increased diversity in clinical trial participation.
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Locklear, Tracie, Roslyn Lewis, Faye Calhoun, Andy Li, Kathryn C Dickerson, Amanda McMillan, Lisa Davis, Kafui Dzirasa, et al. (2023). Advancing workforce diversity by leveraging the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program. Journal of clinical and translational science, 7(1). p. e30. 10.1017/cts.2022.489 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/32352.
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Scholars@Duke
Kathryn C Dickerson
Kathryn (Katie) Dickerson completed her B.A. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from the University of Rochester in 2006. She then joined Dr. Mauricio Delgado's lab at Rutgers University-Newark earning her Ph.D. in Behavioral and Neural Sciences in 2011. She moved to Durham and joined the lab of Dr. Alison Adcock at Duke University where she was a post-doc from 2011-2016. She received a KL2 award in 2016 and was promoted to Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University.
Katie is interested in how reward and motivation influence what we learn and remember. She focuses on studying the dopamine system in healthy humans and clinical populations using a combination of behavioral, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and real-time fMRI methods.
Kafui Dzirasa
Kevin Phillip Weinfurt
Kevin P. Weinfurt, PhD, is Professor and Vice Chair of Faculty in the Department of Population Health Sciences at Duke University Medical Center and a faculty member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. He holds secondary appointment as a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Professor of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, and a Faculty Associate of the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine. Dr. Weinfurt also co-directs the Center for Health Measurement at Duke and is co-director of the Clinical Research Training Program (Masters degree offered through the School of Medicine). Dr. Weinfurt worked as a Special Governmental Employee for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for four years, helping to create the Patient-Focused Drug Development guidance series. He is also a member of the Secretary's Advisory Committee for Human Research Protections.
Dr. Weinfurt conducts research on measuring patient-reported outcomes, medical decision making, and bioethics. In addition to conducting research, Dr. Weinfurt has taught undergraduate courses in introductory psychology, judgment and decision making, and the psychology of medical decision making; and graduate courses in multivariate statistics, patient-reported outcomes, and research ethics.
Areas of Expertise: Bioethics, Health Measurement, Health Services Research, and Health Behavior
Steven C. Grambow
Transforming research education through innovation, mentorship, and collaboration.
Steven C. Grambow, PhD is Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Education in the Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Duke University School of Medicine. He serves as Director of the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP), Duke’s flagship degree-granting program for clinical and translational research education, and as Co-Director of the Workforce Development Pillar of the Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). Dr. Grambow provides strategic oversight for multiple educational and workforce development initiatives that span the full continuum of learners, from students to faculty.
With over two decades of experience in graduate and professional education, Dr. Grambow has taught statistical methods and research design to more than 1,000 physician-scientists, clinical fellows, and faculty at Duke and the NIH. He has led the CRTP’s core statistics course for over 21 years and has directed or co-directed national and international certificate programs across multiple institutions. His expertise spans classroom, hybrid, and online environments, and he has served as a leader in designing programs that respond to evolving workforce and research needs.
A central focus of Dr. Grambow’s work is building pathways into clinical and translational research careers. He has cultivated longstanding partnerships with academic and community institutions, including North Carolina Central University and Durham Technical Community College, to create educational models that prepare learners for impactful roles in research. His efforts emphasize strong mentorship, practical experience, and tailored program design to meet learners where they are and help them advance.
Dr. Grambow is also at the forefront of educational innovation, leading initiatives that explore the integration of artificial intelligence into biostatistical training and academic workflows. His current work includes faculty development in AI literacy, emerging pedagogical models that support active learning and reflective practice, and new frameworks for clinical research education that emphasize adaptability and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
As a collaborative statistical scientist, Dr. Grambow has contributed to a wide range of clinical research studies, including observational studies, randomized trials, and epidemiologic investigations. His research collaborations have addressed public health and clinical challenges such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), prostate cancer, cardiovascular risk reduction, and substance use recovery.
Dr. Grambow’s leadership has been recognized through institutional and national awards, including teaching honors from the American Statistical Association and Duke University. He brings a unique combination of academic rigor, educational strategy, and programmatic leadership to his roles, helping to shape the future of clinical research training through thoughtful innovation and sustained collaboration.
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