Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University's Graduate School of Biological Sciences proposes to initiate a post-baccalaureate research education program (PREP) with an initial group of four scholars, building to a total group of ten scholars in the fifth year of the Program. The two major goals of the PREP are: to increase enrollment of under-represented minority (URM) students in our Graduate School programs (and, no doubt in others) by fostering the initial interest of high potential URM scholars; and to enhance the quality of the Graduate School experience that the scholars later enjoy as a result of the exposure to research and the academic development that occur through PREP. The Program builds upon a long-standing commitment of the School to educational programs that reach out to under-represented groups. The PREP scholars would spend 1-2 years in the Program, entering during the first summer, so their orientation can include the Annual Graduate School Retreat, they can take advantage of appropriate Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) activities, and, where appropriate, take a course (to be developed) that serves PREP scholars and entering Ph.D. students whose background in biochemistry/molecular biology is insufficient to support their success in our Core Curriculum. The major activity of PREP is the research work in a laboratory chosen from 26 PREP mentors whose excellent research programs span diverse areas of biomedical sciences. All PREP faculty share a strong dedication to working with URM students. Most have already had experience and younger faculty will gain experience through the SURP and numerous Mount Sinai initiatives before mentorlng a PREP scholar. In addition to the research work, journal clubs and travel to meetings, all PREP scholars will participate in special PREP and selected Graduate School activities, including Responsible Conduct in Research, interactions with a pre-doctoral "buddy" and many optional activities. Each PREP scholar will have an individualized program, based on an Initial Assessment of academic strengths and weaknesses; this program may include the initiation of graduate core course-work, selected introductory graduate courses of particular interest, the special pre-core curriculum course, and/or a variety of skills development options. An assessment of the progress of PREP scholars and success of the Program will be conducted through a combination of objective follow-up testing/assessment tools as well as outcomes with respect to matriculation and completion of Graduate School and subsequent career activities.