Vision of MARC is to remove HIV/AIDS-related disparities and inequities among minority populations around the globe while simultaneously demonstrating research and teaching excellence through access and educational opportunity to the people of the El Paso region and beyond.
Mission of MARC is sustainable education in basic and applied health sciences in combination with translational and clinical research leading to behavioral and technological innovation that directly leads to better graduating health practitioners and biomedical professionals while simultaneously reducing HIV/AIDS-related disparities and inequities among minority populations.
Center Goals
Strategic Goal 1: assist UTEP in educating the next generation of health sciences, biomedical and policy professionals, including increasing student participation in research and community and global engagement, and unique curriculum ties.
Strategic Goal 2: through interdisciplinary research with community and global partnerships, identify, qualify and quantify the contributors and affiliated factors to HIV/AIDS-related disparities among minority populations.
Strategic Goal 3: through basic and applied interdisciplinary research develop effective behavioral and technological innovations to address HIV/AIDS-related disparities among minority populations.
Strategic Goal 4: reduce the incidence of HIV while enhancing the quality of life for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
Strategic Goal 5: develop next-generation HIV therapies
Strategic Goal 6: become a known cross-cutting resource of HIV/AIDS-related expertise in training, infrastructure, and capacity building that includes epidemiology, behavioral and social sciences, medical sciences/clinical management, health disparities, and minority populations, and stand as a reliable effective information outlet.
Strategic Goal 7: continually improve effectiveness and efficiency of operations within MARC.
5-Year Goals: Over the next five years the MARC will have specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound (SMART) objects stated for the Center as a whole and approved as of date for each of the funded projects/partnerships through the following strategies:
The Center will operate with two main components based on the current partnerships and programs established: National and Global units- to address AIDS related health disparities; partners from UTEP and other institutions; community partners under each unit. Knowledge transfer within and between these units will be fostered to make such transfer and innovative solutions part of an organic process as projects/teams evolve. The Global Alliance for Healthier Populations (GAHP) co-directed by Dr. Mangadu will play a key role in such processes at the international level.
The Center outputs and outcomes will be sustained mainly through extramural funding. Collaborators are from Colleges/Schools across UTEP campus, and other institutions in the US and in Africa, India and Panama. Potential funders include the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USAID and, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The MARC will continue the core teams’/ projects’ special focus on (i) student engagement in various capacities including action research, civic engagement and health professional development through funded research assistantships and professional development training positions; (ii) partnering with other minority serving institutions (MSIs) through the contacts established over the past 4 years including other HSIs, HBCUs and Tribal/Native American Organizations in the US, (iii) continuing active collaborations with the Global Alliance for Healthier Populations (GAHP) partners (iv) innovation in technology and social marketing, (vi) peer-led intervention models in multiple settings and (v) dissemination of findings from each program findings in multiple venues for scientific and community audiences.
A strong continued focus on technology for health communication and documentation will be a core strategy to help sustain program outcomes, and center resources.
