ESTEEMED Scholars Program in Bioengineering at the University of Colorado Denver

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PROJECT SUMMARY This is a resubmission application for a research education program to support individuals from diverse backgrounds to pursue the study of bioengineering and a career in research. The overall objective is to recruit talented students from the Community College of Denver, a minority serving institution (MSI), into the undergraduate Bioengineering program at the University of Colorado Denver, also a MSI, and to provide these students with the skills necessary for postgraduate studies in bioengineering, biomedical sciences, and medicine. The rationale for the proposed research education program is that community college transfers are an important, but often neglected, part of the pipeline of students with diverse backgrounds that enter undergraduate bioengineering programs. In order to support this group of students we will pursue the following specific aims: (1) a pre-transfer advising program on academic, cultural, and financial issues to make for a successful transfer to a four-year degree program, (2) a summer bridge program in which students earn credit towards their degree and learn essential skills in design thinking and computational thinking while being oriented into campus culture, (3) academic year activities that includes paid engineering apprenticeships and a layered mentoring approach, (4) a summer research experience in bioengineering at an academic medical center that includes skills workshops and responsible conduct in research training, and (5) an honors and leadership program that provides additional research experience and leadership training in the junior and senior years as well as entry into a combined B.S./M.S. program. This approach is innovative because it targets a unique population of students with diverse backgrounds and will yield an educational research program that caters to their strengths and needs. The proposed education program is significant because it will provide both quantitative and qualitative data on how these approaches support science identity, academic efficacy, scholarship, and matriculation into postgraduate programs. If successful, this program could be expanded at CU Denver and replicated at other institutions to support community college transfers in bioengineering and related fields.