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

在招收有才华的学生从事科学职业方面，一个持续存在的差距正在瞄准来自历史上代表性不足的少数群体的学生。神经科学领域中代表性不足的少数族裔数量少得可怜，尽管美国这类人口的数量在不断增加。对高中生和大学生的研究支持的主流观点是，解决少数群体进入研究职业的问题的办法是：1)通过早期参与研究项目来吸引和培养这些学生；2)学术和社会支持以及专业发展。接触有效的榜样，即已经取得一定程度成功的代表不足的少数族裔的成员，是必要的，因为它允许学生看到自己在类似的角色中。明尼苏达大学少数民族本科生暑期研究计划(5月31日至8月11日)的总体目标是建立一个严格的计划，从传统上代表不足的人群中招募、培养和指导有前途的本科理科专业学生进入神经科学研究的专业生涯。该项目将1)通过为这些学生提供重要的研究经验，招募这些学生在本科生涯早期进入科学职业生涯；2)通过与其他研究领域的学生进行顶峰海报演示，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，留住这些学生在该领域的学习。

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.