Michigan State University receives grant from National Institutes of Health for mental health preparedness in underrepresented areas

Michigan State University is starting a new program that will work to increase the number of nurses and medical doctors from Michigan’s underrepresented areas who are trained in substance use disorders through research. 

The initiative is called IMPACT TEAM, or, Increasing Minority Physician and APRN (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) Clinician Scientist Research Training to Equalize Addiction Medicine. It is funded by a five-year $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The program will be led by researchers from Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine as well as the College of Nursing.

A press release posted on the University’s College of Nursing website quoted Dr. Cara Poland, who is an associate professor in the College of Human Medicine, as saying, “This unique program will help build a pipeline of clinician-scientists ready to address the addiction crisis in Michigan and beyond. By learning the science of addiction early in their careers and coupling this with mentored research projects, my colleague and I hope to expand the substance use disorder and other mental health physician and nursing workforce to more equitably mirror the populations MSU serves across the state of Michigan.”
 
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has been tracking the number of opioid-related deaths, and has found that from 2019 to 2022, deaths have risen more than 19 percent. 

Dr. Dawn Goldstein, assistant professor and director of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program in the College of Nursing, was also quoted, saying, “Mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) are increasingly prevalent issues throughout the state. This effort will promote a pipeline of advanced practice registered nurses and physician clinician-scientists from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds who will be poised to be leaders in the areas of SUD and addiction medicine.”

The program has three main focuses: to recruit members of underrepresented groups to participate in mentored research on substance abuse and mental health, to refine and improve stigma-reducing and evidence-based curriculum for students, and to recruit students who are engaged in training to participate in research projects with a focus on launching a career in research. 

Dr. Poland and Dr. Goldstein will use preexisting university resources to create a group of mentors across many disciplines to support students working in research. 

The National Institutes of Health is the biggest public funder of biomedical research in the world, giving out more than $30 billion a year in research grants.

To learn more about Michigan State University’s College of Nursing, visit their website here.

To learn more about Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine, visit their website here.