REU Site: Memphis Neuroscience Techniques and Research Training Program (NeuroSTART)

该项目由SBE理事会的本科生研究经验(REU)站点计划资助，并由国防部与NSF REU计划合作提供支持。除了将研究和教育结合起来之外，它还具有科学和社会效益。为了最大限度地促进科学进步，欢迎来自不同群体的贡献是很重要的。然而，在被神经科学研究生课程录取的代表不足的种族和少数民族(URM)学生的数量方面，存在着巨大的国家差异。在田纳西州孟菲斯的高等教育机构中，本科生(UG)群体具有极好的多样性。这笔赠款是为了支持孟菲斯大学的神经科学技术和研究培训(NeuroSTART)计划，该计划旨在增加来自大孟菲斯地区的URM UG学生积极参与行为神经科学(BN)研究的人数。通过利用基督教兄弟大学、勒莫因-欧文学院和孟菲斯大学UGS的优秀多样性，以及从当地社区大学转到这些机构的URM学生的很大比例，该项目的目标是增加成功申请神经科学研究生课程的有竞争力的URM申请者的数量。NeuroSTART计划不仅关注专业发展、建立网络、促进参与者的科学素养和技术技能培训，还培养情感因素(自我效能感、归属感和支持性科学网络)，这些因素被证明影响URM UG学生过渡到科学研究生项目的留住和成功。增加竞争激烈的UG URM研究生项目申请者的数量将随后增加URM研究生培训生，并最终增加神经科学工作人员的多样性。作为REU的一部分的NeuroSTART参与者完全融入孟菲斯大学心理系行为神经科学研究实验室，在那里他们与其他教职员工、研究生、技术人员和UG研究助理互动。在获得津贴的同时，他们进行两个学期的独立研究，在此期间，他们完成一个经验性研究项目(在一名行为神经科学教员的指导下)，然后在神经科学学会的年度会议上以模拟辩护的形式展示他们的工作结果，并将手稿提交给同行评议的神经科学杂志。NeuroSTART的参与者还与其他神经科学研究人员一起参加了一系列每月研讨会，以促进研究中负责任的行为的职业发展和培训，并参加秋季的务虚会，为他们申请研究生院的过程做准备。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project is funded from the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program in the SBE Directorate and is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program. It has both scientific and societal benefits in addition to integrating research and education. To maximize scientific progress, it is important to welcome contributions from a diverse group of individuals. However, there is substantial national disparity in the number of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority (URM) students admitted to graduate neuroscience programs. There is excellent diversity within the undergraduate (UG) population among the institutions of higher education in Memphis, TN. This grant is to support the Neuroscience Techniques and Research Training (NeuroSTART) Program at the University of Memphis designed to increase the number of URM UG students from the greater Memphis area actively involved in behavioral neuroscience (BN) research. By taking advantage of the excellent diversity among UGs at Christian Brothers University, LeMoyne-Owen College, and at the University of Memphis, as well as the large proportion of URM students from local community colleges that transfer to these institutions, the goal of this project is to increase the number of competitive URM applicants successfully applying to graduate neuroscience programs. The NeuroSTART program focuses not only on professional development, networking, and promoting scientific literacy and technical skills training among the participants, it also nurtures affective factors (self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and a supportive scientific network) shown to influence the retention and success of URM UG students transitioning into scientific graduate programs. Increasing the number of competitive UG URM applicants to graduate programs will subsequently increase URM graduate trainees and ultimately increase the diversity of individuals that are part of the neuroscience workforce.NeuroSTART participants that are part of this REU are fully integrated into the University of Memphis psychology department behavioral neuroscience research laboratories where they interact with other faculty, graduate students, technicians, and UG research assistants. While receiving a stipend, they engage in two semesters of independent study during which they complete an empirical research project (under the mentorship of a behavioral neuroscience faculty member) and then present the results of their work in a mock defense, at the annual Society for Neuroscience conference, and as a manuscript submitted to a peer-reviewed neuroscience journal. The NeuroSTART participants also join other neuroscience researchers in a series of monthly seminars to promote career development and training in responsible conduct in research and attend a retreat in the fall intended to prepare them for the process of applying to graduate school.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.