James G. Townsel, Ph.D. Principal Investigator	James E. K. Hildreth, M.D., Ph.D. Program Director

The RCMI Program (http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/resinfra/ri_rcmi.asp) is supported by the Division of Research Infrastructure of the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) at the NIH. The goal is to expand the research capacity of the nation by improving the human and physical research resources at doctoral degree granting institutions that have a 50% or greater enrollment of students who are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences.
 
Meharry Medical College successfully competed for one of the first RCMI awards and since then has had more than 20 years of uninterrupted funding. The RCMI Program supports the infrastructure of shared resources across the campus including the Office for Research Support Services, the Library, Information Technology, and various research core facilities. Of the current Meharry faculty, 18 were hired through the RCMI Program.

The RCMI also has supported Meharry’s research infrastructure in multiple scientific areas including neuroscience, cancer cell biology, environmental health and toxicology, infectious diseases, and oral biology. The focus of the current proposal is women’s health and the Center for Women’s Health Research at Meharry.