Research in Academic Pediatrics Initiative on Diversity (RAPID)

Leadership

Glenn Flores, MD (Director)
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Holtz Children’s Hospital, Jackson Health System

Fernando S. Mendoza, MD, MPH (Co-Director)
Stanford University School of Medicine

National Advisory Committee

V. Faye Jones, MD, PhD, MSPH
University of Louisville School of Medicine

Michael DeBaun, MD, MPH
Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine

Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Jason A. Mendoza, MD, MPH
Fred Hutch/UW Cancer Consortium

Jean Raphael, MD, MPH
Texas Children's Hospital

Jason Wang, MD, PhD
Stanford University

Jennifer Woo Baidal, MD
Columbia University

PIDS National Advisors

Anthony Flores, MD, MPH, PhD
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Kristen Feemster, MD, MPH, MSHPR
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Bonnie Maldonado, MD
Stanford University

Octavio Ramilo, MD
Nationwide Children's Hospital

RAPID targets young scholars (residents, fellows, and junior faculty) who identify as underrepresented in medicine (UIM), disabled, or from a socially, culturally, economically, or educationally disadvantaged background, and who are committed to a career in academic pediatrics.

This initiative began in 2012, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and continues to receive support through this mechanism, providing mentorship and research opportunities to young scholars with specific interests in pediatric obesity, nutrition, and/or sickle cell disease, in addition to other NIDDK research areas (R25DK096944). In 2021, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) joined the initiative. In 2022, the American Pediatric Society and the American Board of Pediatrics began supporting RAPID Scholars, so applicants from any pediatric subspecialty are encouraged to apply.

The program funds:

Research grants up to $15,000 (for junior faculty and fellows in their last year of fellowship)
Career and Leadership Development Conference (for residents, fellows, and junior faculty)

Learn more about RAPID’s successful support of UIM scholars:

Flores G, Mendoza F, Brimacombe MB, Frazier W 3rd. Program Evaluation of the Research in Academic Pediatrics Initiative on Diversity (RAPID): Impact on Career Development and Professional Society Diversity. Acad Med. 2021;96(4):549-556. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003531. PMID: 32496290.

Gordon, C.M., Hostetter, M.K. & DeBaun, M.R. Academic pipeline initiatives in pediatrics. Pediatr Res (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-021-01615-2