Georgetown University Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD)

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Project Summary The Georgetown University Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) will bring together 61 faculty from 7 graduate programs and departments across Georgetown to develop a cadre of diverse and interdisciplinary scholars for careers in the biomedical scientific workforce. The overarching program goals are to expand diversity of our PhD student population, build a community of interdisciplinary scholars, facilitate career self-efficacy, and establish a community of practice in inclusive mentorship. Each year, six IMSD Trainees will enter the program and be supported for years 1 and 2. Year 1 will consist of foundational coursework in their respective disciplines with access to interdepartmental electives, cohort development activities, and research rotations. All IMSD Trainees will complete a core Survival Skills course that focuses on scientific rigor, science communications, proposal development, and responsible conduct of research. Scholars will also complete a course in Celebrating Difference that helps them navigate institutional cultures, develop leadership skills, and synergize their sociocultural and science identities. During year two, trainees will join thesis research laboratories and form cross-disciplinary mentorship teams tailored to their individualized interests and career development needs. The mentoring team structure will broaden the trainee’s scientific skills and career perspectives, as well as foster cross-departmental scholarship. Additionally, IMSD Scholars will develop cross-sector professional management and communications skills by completing project management and communications curriculum. Scholars will also complete experiential immersion projects with administrative partners on campus or with offsite partners in industry or policy sectors. Participating faculty will complete training in effective and inclusive mentoring practices using the Entering Mentoring Train the Trainer curriculum that we’ve previously replicated at Georgetown University. To integrate our faculty into the IMSD recruitment process, we will partner with the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), a Historically Black College and University, to provide paid summer mentored-research experiences to undergraduates to develop our applicant pipeline. This pipeline development initiative will build a strong mentorship network for prospective students, IMSD Scholars, IMSD Affiliates (advanced graduate students who have completed their 2 years of direct support), and faculty, establishing a ‘vertical’ community of scholars at different stages of their professional development. Furthermore, we will build community and peer accountability among our IMSD Trainees, and in parallel among their faculty mentors, by utilizing a Power of Peers (POP) circle peer-coaching model framework. IMSD POP circles provide participants with a self-sustaining structure to problem solve and address career development issues with a community of peers. Faculty mentor POP Circles will share equitable mentoring practices and build a robust community of practice in equitable training that spans department boundaries.