The imbalance in the makeup of the US health care workforce contributes to persistent 
disparities in health for significant segments of our nation’s population. In an effort to enhance the racial/ethnic diversity of the workforce, our training and education programs reflect a relationship-centered approach: we recognize and value how cultural and personal identities, perceptions, feelings and experiences matter to clinical interactions, scholar mentoring, research recruitment efforts and community engagement strategies. The CCHE portfolio of programs is intended to grow the future leaders in health equity, starting with our most junior to post-doctoral scholars, faculty and staff!
Key Programs
The ADEPT Program supports historically underrepresented students interested in pursuing a PhD in health sciences part-time, while they continue to work. ADEPT is committed to assisting the student’s successful transition to graduate school by providing individualized support and a yearly $18,000 scholarship for up to two years. Students will be part of a cohort of learners that include those who are part of the AHEAD and STRIDE programs.
Dr. Michelle Chui is the ADEPT Faculty Director.
Learn more by downloading our flyer.
Apply now for 2023 enrollment.
The BEAM program is a collaboration of SMPH Academic Affairs, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, and CCHE via Dr. Angela Byars-Winston. BEAM matches underrepresented racial/ethnic (UR) faculty and UR students for a year-long program designed to enhance the medical school experience for individuals of color and other marginalized identities. The primary goal is to support talent development in first year medical students by building self-efficacy for degree completion and cultural navigation skills.
The January 2022 BEAM kick off included 29 new M1 and M2 students and 18 Faculty mentors!
The AHEAD Program offered through CCHE provides a leadership and mentoring curriculum to support professional success supplementing existing programs and activities for UW-Madison postdoctoral scholars, particularly those who identify as a member of a historically underrepresented group.
The program is open to postdoctoral students from any department or unit across the campus or from other programs such as the Primary Care Research Fellowship.
Stephanie Budge is the AHEAD Faculty Director.
For questions, please email ccheworkforce@ictr.wisc.edu.
Sign-up now for the 2023-2024 academic year.
The annual Health Equity Leadership Institute (HELI) is a weeklong research and leadership immersion program focused on increasing the number of investigators, particularly underrepresented racial/ethnic (UR) investigators, engaged in health disparities research to achieve health equity. HELI reflects an important academic consortium between CCHE and the Maryland Center for Health Equity (M-CHE) at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. HELI targets junior faculty in an effort to increase the likelihood of their promotion and tenure at health science research institutions.
We’ve published on our HELI model in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science.
We are using the pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to consider next steps after 10 years of the HELI program. Stay tuned for more.
Just Research is a NEW program for researchers and research staff to learn skills to promote diversity in study participation and research equity. Created from our decade of experience with community engagement, inclusive research practices, and the Building Trust initiative, Just Research is an ICTR-sponsored partnership between the Collaborative Center for Health Equity (CCHE) and the Center for Community Engagement and Health Partnerships (CCE).
Just Research workshops cover topics such as the role of bias in research engagement; perspectives in community engagement; and effective communication through interactive exercises, skill practice, and discussion.
Please email justresearch@ictr.wisc.edu with questions about the program and its training workshops.
The STRIDE program is a year-long mentored professional development program for UW-Madison early career faculty who identify as members of groups historically underrepresented in health sciences. STRIDE consists of monthly seminars, mentorship, networking and training opportunities in grant and manuscript writing. STRIDE was inspired by Building Up.
Dr. Olayinka Shiyanbola is the STRIDE Faculty Director.
Apply now for the 2023-2024 academic year.
Building Up was an intervention designed by Doris Rubio, Univ. of Pittsburgh, as part of her NRMN U01 funded trial. Building Up was piloted at UW-Madison and locally adapted into the STRIDE Program.