University of Minnesota Minority Undergraduate Summer Research Program (May-August 2012)

在招募有才华的学生从事科学职业方面，一个持续存在的差距是针对历史上代表性不足的少数群体的学生。 神经科学中代表性不足的少数民族的数量少得可怜，尽管这些人口在美国不断增长。 对高中生和大学生的研究支持的普遍观点是，解决少数群体从事研究工作问题的办法是：1）通过尽早参与研究项目来吸引和培养这些学生，再加上2）学术和社会支持以及专业发展。 接触有效的榜样，即代表性不足的少数民族成员谁取得了一定程度的成功，是必要的，因为它允许学生看到自己在类似的角色。明尼苏达大学少数民族本科生暑期研究计划的总体目标（5月31日至8月11日）是建立一个严格的计划，招募，培养，并指导有前途的本科科学专业，从传统上代表性不足的人群到神经科学研究的职业生涯。 该项目将1）通过为他们提供重要的研究经验，招募这些学生在本科生涯的早期从事科学职业，2）通过与其他研究领域的学生一起进行顶点海报展示，将这些学生暴露在生物科学领域，以及3）通过专业发展和持续的指导支持，将这些学生保留在该领域。

A persisting gap in recruiting talented students to careers in science is targeting students from 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. The prevailing view, supported by studies of high school and college students, is that the solution to the problem of minority access to research careers is 1) to engage and nurture these students through early inclusion in research projects, coupled with 2) 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 (May 31-August 11) 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 neuroscience. This project will 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.