The center is composed of four separate but integrated units: Administrative Core, Research Education Component, Analysis Core, and Community Liaison and Recruitment Core.
- Administrative Core: The AC provides rigorous scientific leadership and coordination of Center activities, stimulating synergistic cross-core communication and activities among CADC faculty, CADC Scientists, other NIA-funded Centers, and the external scientific and local communities. The AC ensures CADC’s compliance with all reporting requirements, conducts recruitment of CADC Scientists, oversees issuance of the call for pilot study grants and review of applications, and maintains relations with the External Advisory Board.
- Research Education Component: The REC provides a structured environment and program to foster the career development of under-represented researchers conducting research on minority aging and health disparities. The REC includes a unique health disparities and minority aging research education program, an individualized CADC Scholar continual mentoring program, pilot study funding for at least three pilot studies per year focused on minority aging issues, a strategic plan to diversify and increase the research workforce
conducting aging research, and a systematic evaluation of these research education and career development efforts. - Analysis Core: The AnC performs three functions: 1) identifies, distributes, creates and adapts culturally informed and scientifically valid self-report measures for health disparities research; 2) disseminates methodological resources to advance measurement and implementation science among diverse older adults; and 3) provides mentoring and statistical consultations on secondary data analyses to identify pathways that produce health disparities and suggest interventions to ameliorate them.
- Community Liaison and Recruitment Core: The CLRC works with the REC to provide community engagement and recruitment support to CADC Scientists and mentors them on effective recruitment and retention methods for enhancing participation of diverse populations in aging research. The CLRC conducts research to generate new knowledge on optimal recruitment and retention techniques among minority populations and disseminates these findings to the broader scientific community. The CLRC promotes the benefits of participation in clinical research among local diverse communities and fosters excellent academic-community relations to facilitate community engagement in UCSF aging research.