RaMP: Training in the One Health Framework: Studies in Animals and Environments that Affect Human Health in West Virginia (One Health WV)

该项目将建立一个健康西弗吉尼亚州，一个网络连接在一个健康领域的研究导师与研究不利背景的学士后学员。研究涵盖三个核心健康主题：水的使用和质量，环境污染和疾病的生物相关性。西弗吉尼亚州是传染病风险最高的州之一，在美国大多数慢性病类别中排名垫底或接近垫底，目前在全国人口增长中排名第50位，50岁以下的人口持续减少。该项目将通过提供培训，激励机会和各种职业途径或STEM领域研究生学习的途径，解决该地区招募和留住受过教育的年轻人的迫切社会需求。它将通过弥合本科学位和成功的STEM职业之间的差距，为以前很少或没有研究经验的学生增加技术人才库。通过有意招聘和对来自不同背景的导师进行文化意识培训，该项目将扩大STEM领域的参与。培训网络将围绕“一个健康”主题，在科研领域为学员提供严格的培训。该网络还将为学员成功过渡到学术、企业、非政府组织和政府就业建立一个渠道。该网络将包括来自西弗吉尼亚大学、西弗吉尼亚州立大学和马歇尔大学的研究小组。共有30名学员将与全职教师导师合作，为期12个月的职位，以探索一个健康主题的问题。在该计划的过程中，学员将获得先进的科学设备，道德和安全的研究行为，有效的实验设计，科学写作和沟通的培训。他们将获得实验室，现场和数据分析技术的技能，这些技术立即适用于当前的STEM工作场所（学术或其他）。研究环境污染物和污染物的学员项目将为有效的广泛缓解工作提供信息，对昆虫和野生动物健康的研究将为全球疾病预防、监测和控制提供重要见解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will establish One Health West Virginia, a network connecting research mentors in the One Health area with postbaccalaureate mentees from research-disadvantaged backgrounds. Research spans three core One Health themes: water use and quality, environmental contamination, and biological correlates of disease. West Virginia is one of the most at-risk states for infectious disease, ranks at or near the bottom in most US chronic disease categories, and currently ranks 50th nationally in population growth, with consistent population loss driven by individuals under the age of fifty. This project will address the urgent societal need for recruitment and retention of educated younger individuals in the region by providing training, motivational opportunities, and pathways to a wide range of career pathways or graduate study in STEM fields. It will increase the pool of skilled individuals by bridging the gap between an undergraduate degree and successful STEM career for students with little or no previous research experience. Through intentional recruitment and culturally-aware training of mentors from diverse backgrounds, this project will broaden participation in STEM fields. The training network will provide rigorous mentee training in scientific research areas around the One Health theme. It will also establish a pipeline for mentees to transition successfully into academic, corporate, non-governmental organization (NGO), and governmental employment.The network will incorporate research groups from West Virginia University, West Virginia State University, and Marshall University. A total of 30 mentees will work with faculty mentors in full-time, 12-month positions to explore issues in the One Health theme. During the course of this program, mentees will acquire training with cutting edge scientific equipment, ethical and safe research conduct, effective experimental design, and scientific writing and communication. They will acquire skills in laboratory, field, and data analysis techniques that are immediately applicable in the current STEM workplace (academic or otherwise). Mentee projects studying environmental pollutants and contaminants will inform effective widespread mitigation efforts, and research on insect and wildlife health will provide essential insights to global disease prevention, surveillance, and control.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.