Conference: University of Minnesota Minority Undergraduate Summer Research Program in Neuroendocrinology. The conference will be held at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

20 世纪 90 年代被称为“大脑的十年”由当时的乔治·布什总统和国会负责。 这一宣言肯定了许多人几个世纪以来所知道的事情。神经系统在协调不同类群的生理和行为过程中的作用至关重要。 总统/国会的这项授权推动了我们对神经功能理解的基础科学进步的新时代。 多年后的挑战仍然是激励新一代科学家致力于加速这一基础生物学学科的进步。历史上代表性不足的少数群体在招募有才华的学生从事科学职业方面一直存在差距。 尽管美国神经科学领域代表性不足的少数群体数量不断增加，但其数量却少得可怜。 许多研究表明，解决这个问题的方法是通过早期参与研究项目以及学术和社会支持以及专业发展来吸引和培养这些学生。 接触有效的榜样，即取得一定程度成功的少数族裔成员，是必要的，因为它让学生看到自己处于类似的角色。明尼苏达大学少数族裔本科生暑期研究计划的总体目标是建立一个严格的计划，以招募、培养和指导有前途的本科科学专业从传统上代表性不足的人群进入行为神经内分泌学研究的职业生涯。 这个为期 10 周的课程的计划是 1) 通过为这些学生提供重要的研究经验，在本科生涯的早期吸引他们进入科学领域，2) 通过与其他研究领域的学生进行顶点海报展示，让这些学生接触到整个生物科学领域，3) 通过专业发展和持续的指导支持，让这些学生留在该领域。

The 1990s were declared ?The Decade of the Brain? by then President George Bush and Congress. This declaration affirmed what many had known for centuries; the critical importance of the nervous system?s role in coordinating physiological and behavioral processes across a diverse set of taxa. This Presidential/Congressional mandate spurred on a new era of basic science advances in our understanding of neural function. The challenge many years later remains to excite a new generation of scientists committed to accelerating the advances made in this fundamental biological discipline.A persisting gap in recruiting talented students to careers in science is among historically underrepresented minority groups. The number of underrepresented minorities in neuroscience is woefully small despite the ever growing numbers of these populations in the US. A number of studies suggest that the solution to the problem is to engage and nurture these students through early inclusion in research projects coupled with academic and social support and professional development. Exposure to effective role models, i.e. members of underrepresented minorities who have achieved a measure of success, is warranted as it allows students to see themselves in similar roles.The overarching goal of the University of Minnesota Minority Undergraduate Summer Research Program is to establish a rigorous program to recruit, nurture, and mentor promising undergraduate science majors from traditionally underrepresented populations to professional careers in research in behavioral neuroendocrinology. The plan for this 10-week course is to 1) recruit these students to a career in science early in their undergraduate career by providing them with a significant research experience, 2) expose these students to the field of biological sciences at large through a capstone poster presentation with students in other research areas, and 3) retain these students in the field, through professional development and ongoing mentored support.