Centers of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Education, Science, and Practice

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Centers of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Education, Science, and Practice (Centers of Excellence in MCH). The purpose of the Centers of Excellence in MCH Program is to: (1) strengthen and expand the MCH workforce by training graduate and post-graduate public health students in MCH and (2) advance MCH science, research, practice and policy through a well-trained MCH public health workforce. The specific objectives of the Centers of Excellence in MCH Program are to: (1) provide didactic and experiential public health training in MCH that leads to a graduate degree (masters or doctoral); (2) offer an MCH curriculum that addresses a broad public health perspective including, but not limited to, life course theory; comprehensive historical, legislative, and public health knowledge base regarding Title V and related programs; cultural competence; and emerging MCH public health issues; (3) recruit diverse trainees and engage them in 300+ hours of training per year, including didactic coursework, experiential learning through placements with MCH organizations, and involvement in MCH faculty research activities; and (4) establish and strengthen academic-practice partnerships with Title V agencies and community organizations to provide subject matter expertise. In this notice is the additional opportunity to apply for the MCH Epidemiology Doctoral Training Supplement. Building on infrastructure provided by the Centers of Excellence in MCH funding, the purpose of the MCH Epidemiology Doctoral Training supplement is to train the future MCH epidemiologic workforce and promote advancements in applied MCH research. The specific objectives of the MCH Epidemiology Doctoral Training supplemental funding are to: (1) provide financial support to doctoral students who conduct state or local level analyses on a public health topic important to MCH populations as the foundation of their dissertation; (2) educate doctoral students in current and emerging topics in MCH epidemiology, data collection, surveillance systems, advanced applied and quantitative analytic methods, and frameworks relevant to state and local MCH populations and programs; and (3) strengthen the evidence base in MCH through publication of dissertation research in peer-reviewed journals.