Historically underrepresented groups in biomedical research have continued to experience low representation despite shifting demographics. Diversity fosters inclusive, higher quality, and innovative team science. One avenue for diversifying research teams is integrating diversity-focused initiatives into Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Programs, such as the integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV). In 2020, iTHRIV participated in Building Up, developed by the University of Pittsburgh CTSA, and intended to increase representation and improve career support for underrepresented groups in the biomedical workforce. Drawing lessons from this study, iTHRIV implemented the “inspiring Diverse Researchers in Virginia” (iDRIV) program. This yearlong program provided education, coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship for underrepresented early career investigators in the biomedical workforce. To date, 24 participants have participated in the program across three cohorts. Participants have been predominantly female (92%), with 33% identifying as Hispanic/Latinx, 29% as Black, and 13% as Asian. Notably, 38% of scholars have subsequently achieved at least one accomplishment, such as receiving a local research honor or award and an extramural funding award from a foundation or federal agency. The iTHRIV iDRIV program serves as a model for providing career support to developing investigators from underrepresented backgrounds, with the overall goal of improving patient health.

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Learners will:

• Identify social structures that serve as root causes of health disparities

• Critically evaluate the ways in which racism, culture, and power perpetuate disparity

• Use critical reflection to shape their research and advocate for institutional change

METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The Integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV) Health Equity curriculum provides a lens for participants to view health disparities, social structures that create and perpetuate disparities, and the path to a more equitable future. This longitudinal workforce curriculum incorporates the principles of critical race theory (CRT), including: race as a social construct, structural determinism, intersectionality, and the social construction of knowledge. Learners gain practical experience through facilitated group discussions and critical reflection of their own work including research question design, recruitment, dissemination, and enhancing the faculty pipeline. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: To measure the impact of the curriculum, we will evaluate learners’ participation in mentoring activities for persons from underrepresented backgrounds; participation in local and national diversity and inclusion efforts; engagement in community-based research; ability to account for implicit bias and power imbalances in their research design, including in recruitment and retention; and share research findings with community members and research participants. Evaluation strategies will include quantitative and qualitative methodologies. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: There is growing recognition of the impact of racism on the development and perpetuation of health disparities. Public health critical race praxis (an adaptation of CRT) is emerging as a theoretical framework to empower researchers to challenge the status quo in order to achieve health equity.

We describe the epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus colonization among 200 healthcare workers. The prevalence of S. aureus was 28%, and the prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was 2%. The incidence of MRSA colonization was extremely low. This study suggests that the risk of MRSA transmission to healthcare workers is low in a hospital where MRSA is endemic.

We describe an investigation of soft-tissue infections caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) strains in 2 healthcare workers employed in an outpatient clinic for patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Cultures of environmental samples from multiple surfaces in the clinic grew toxin-producing CA-MRSA strains, suggesting fomites may play a role in the transmission of these strains of MRSA.