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

在招募有才华的学生从事科学事业方面，一直存在的差距是针对历史上代表性不足的少数群体的学生。尽管美国的少数族裔人数不断增加，但神经科学领域未被充分代表的少数族裔人数却少得可怜。对高中生和大学生的研究支持了一种普遍的观点，即解决少数族裔从事研究工作的问题的方法是：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，即取得一定程度成功的未被充分代表的少数民族成员，是必要的，因为它让学生看到自己在类似的角色。明尼苏达大学少数族裔本科生暑期研究项目（5月31日至8月11日）的首要目标是建立一个严格的项目，从传统上代表性不足的人群中招募、培养和指导有前途的本科科学专业学生从事神经科学研究的专业工作。该项目将1)通过为这些学生提供重要的研究经验，在他们的本科生涯早期招募这些学生从事科学事业；2)通过与其他研究领域的学生一起进行高潮海报展示，使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，将这些学生留在该领域。

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.