The specific goal of the M-RISP program at San Francisco State is to enhance the university's institutional capacity to conduct mental health research projects that are responsive to the needs of ethnic minority populations in the US in general and NIMH priorities in particular.

Situated as it is within CCI, an academic institution committed to ethnic diversity and responsive to the needs of disenfranchized communities, this particular MRISP is well equiped to focus on the mental health disparities among ethnic minority communities. In addition, we aim to increase the number of ethnic minority Principal Investigators funded by NIMH through R01 and R03 mechanisms.

CCI founder Rafael M. Diaz, Ph.D., directs the M-RISP and its core activities. In the fall of each academic year, CCI conducts a faculty-wide competition in order to select 4-6 M-RISP Faculty Fellows. To enter the competition, interested faculty must submit a 1-2 page description of a research topic/research question relevant to mental health research. Research topics that address mental health disparities in ethnic minority communities are particularly encouraged. In addition, faculty include a copy of their C.V. and a letter form their department chair agreeing to a 50% teaching load reduction (paid by the M-RISP program) for the following Spring semester. The selected faculty fellows receive 50% teaching reduction for the Spring semester, a $4,000 stipend for proposal development activities, and a $1,500 honorarium to be given to their selected outside mentor.

Selected faculty members must commit to participate in a Proposal Development Group and complete, by July 15 of that year, the final draft of a research proposal that will be submitted extramurally at a later date. In addition, all Fellows are paired with external mentors from institutions around the country whose significant contributions to their disciplines match the fellows’ primary areas of research interest.