AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship
About AIM-AHEAD
The AIM-AHEAD coordinating center was established to enhance diversity in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), with an emphasis on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity. We hope to achieve this by engaging in a fair, equitable, and transparent process of building a consortium of AI/ML to promote health equity and an inclusive and diverse workforce. Many communities have untapped potential to contribute new expertise, data, recruitment strategies, and cutting-edge science to the AI/ML field. AIM-AHEAD Coordinating Center (A-CC) seeks to promote broad participation and engagement through mutually beneficial partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and outreach to advance health equity.
Fellowship Information
The AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship Program will engage a group of early-career researchers to actively participate in biomedical research that involves the use of AI/ML methodologies on biomedical research data, clinical and genomic cohorts to address health disparities and inequities, including bias in AI/ML algorithms or data.
The program is open to individuals conducting research at the intersection of healthcare practice and delivery, AI/ML methods, and the advancement of health equity. The AIM-AHEAD Consortium seeks projects from institutions and their investigators from a variety of fields of study, institutions, and geography.
This Fellowship supports early-career researchers (graduate students, postdocs, junior faculty, and others conducting research outside of an academic institution,within 10 years of completing their highest degree) in implementations of novel and innovative data science and data-focused research problems. The program will provide both funding support and additional AIM-AHEAD resources for researchers who will leverage AIM-AHEAD to gain access to training, data, and infrastructure needed to rapidly develop research skills required in the AI/ML field. The research project needs to focus on AIM-AHEAD North Star (III): Use AI/ML to address disparities and minority health in behavioral health, cardiometabolic health, and cancer.
More information about the Fellows of the AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship Cohort #1, and Cohort #2, including their profiles and research projects.
AIM-AHEAD Research Fellows Cohort 3 will begin on September 3, 2024.
Dataset options
(more information available on below datasets/cohorts):
| Dataset | Brief Description | Data Allowed | Size | Analysis Platform Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A customized subset from OCHIN Community Health Equity Database | EHR data from Underserved communities | HIPAA Limited dataset, individual-patient level data with dates and geographic indicators if needed for research | A customized subset will be created for the research question of awarded fellow from over 6 million records | AIM-AHEAD Service Workbench |
| Curated data from the MedStar Health EHR | EHR data from hospital system network with 31% African American patient representation" | Multiple curated dataset options (further detail on website ) pre-curated or custom curated de-identified EHR, Limited Dataset, Full PHI EHR dataset, Imaging, Select clinical notes, select genomics data, synthetic data | Pre-curated datasets and custom-curated datasets of varying sizes Curated from the EHR with over 5 million patient records |
AIM-AHEAD Data Bridge |
| 60+ studies from NHLBI BioData Catalyst | Selected large-scale cohorts related to heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders. Includes both prospective clinical studies and associated genomic TOPMED data. | De-identified dataset. Including individual level genomic (TOPMED full genomes) and clinical datasets. | Additional description List of studies : 60+ studies are available to choose from |
NHLBI BioData Catalyst PIC-SURE and Seven Bridges Platforms |
|
A variety of datasets available including clinical and genomic data |
Public data, and controlled access data (depends on dataset) |
The All of Us Research Program is building one of the largest biomedical data resources of its kind. |
The All of Us Research Hub stores health data from a diverse group of participants from across the United States. |
Additional descriptions |
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ScHARe is a cloud-based research collaboration platform developed by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the National Institute of Nursing Research.
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Google-hosted Public Datasets |
AIM-AHEAD Service Workbench - Infrastructure available for working with 1) OCHIN and 2) AWS Open Datasets. More information is available here.
Applicants may want to explore the OCHIN Community Health Equity Database for feasibility assessment as they write their proposals. OCHIN provides the means to do so through the use of Cohort Discovery, a web-based software tool for obtaining counts of patients matching user-specified inclusion/exclusion criteria. To gain access to Cohort Discovery, AIM-AHEAD program applicants must have completed and be up to date with standard training in Human Subjects Research and Responsible Conduct of Research such as those offered by the CITI Program. To request access to OCHIN’s Cohort Discovery, AIM-AHEAD program applicants can complete the “i2b2 End User Agreement.”
Applicants whose research question can be addressed with AIM-AHEAD Data Bridge (AADB) data may choose to schedule a pre-award data consultation with AADB to discuss their research question with the AADB team and methodologist. The AADB can perform a preliminary cohort discovery to provide estimated sample sizes and confirm the availability of relevant variables for custom dataset requests.
Available EHR data include (but are not limited to): demographics, problems list, surgical history, observations, medical history, procedures, prescriptions, billing, provider, clinical notes, clinical unit/department, allergies, images, social history, diagnoses, admissions, encounters, social history, environmental and social determinants of health, device implants, images.
Read the Call for Proposal for Research Fellowship Cohort 3
Application Process:
Step 1: Click here to register as a “mentee/learner” on AIM-AHEAD Connect (our Community Building Platform)
Step 2: Click here to submit a fellowship application for review using InfoReady platform*.
* To submit your application in InfoReady, please use Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. If you're using Safari, make sure to clear your cache before logging in.
Please note both steps must be completed for consideration.
All applications must be received by Monday, June 17, 2024, 11:59 PM Eastern Time.
Informational Webinar
There will be an informational webinar for the AIM-AHEAD Research Fellowship Cohort 3 on Thursday, May 2, 2024, from 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm ET.
Click here to register for the Research Fellowship Information Webinar on May 2, 2024!
Frequently Asked Questions
Collections of answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions about the AIM-AHEAD Fellows Program are available here.
Please visit this page regularly as we will continue to add additional answers.
Questions regarding the Fellows Program may be directed to:
https://helpdesk.aim-ahead.net/ticket/create/research_fellowship
Program Directors:
- Director: Paul Avillach, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School
- Co-Director: Wyatt Bensken, PhD, OCHIN
- Co-Director: Nawar Shara, PhD, MedStar Health Research Institute
- Co-Director: Chunmei Liu, PhD, Howard University
