A research incubator to navigate students into public health careers: The South Asian Health and Research (SAHARA) Group

Participating in experiential research is a robust strategy to encourage students to pursue advanced degrees in STEM fields. In 2019, the creation of the South Asian Health and Research (SAHARA) Group at New York University's School of Global Public Health served as one such learning space. SAHARA provides a platform for students and faculty for multidisciplinary research, facilitating reciprocal sharing of experience and expertise among students at all degree levels (undergraduates/Master's/Doctorate, postdoctoral fellows) and early-career to senior faculty. SAHARA experienced significant growth during the pandemic. SAHARA was founded with 5 members and now has 8 faculty and 30+ student members across schools and departments. SAHARA faculty identified "affinity groups;" projects have been developed by students within core affinity areas. Leadership for implementing projects is undertaken by students. Faculty mentors serve as facilitators to provide input and guidance. SAHARA serves as a research incubator, in which students identify and address a wide-range of critical public health topics with a particular focus on the underserved and understudied US subpopulation that are disproportionately impacted by infectious (COVID-19) and chronic diseases (diabetes, obesity). Students gain diverse skills, such as qualitative (interviewing and thematic coding) and quantitative (data acquisition, management, and analysis), project management and report-writing skills, and optimize their conference presentation skills. Technology is a unifying theme for this group of inter-generational scholars. Students are the primary navigators of social media-based research initiatives through which faculty strengthen their technological abilities. SAHARA provides a support structure and has created a sense of cohesion during the pandemic-related social isolation, while reinforcing the importance of community engagement. In conclusion, SAHARA is designed to identify, engage and prepare students to pursue advanced degrees and careers in public health. To this end, students have developed a stronger interest in scientific research, gained confidence, improved self-efficacy and strengthened collaborative skills.