International Exchange Program for Minority Students

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Division of International Health of Mount Sinai School of Medicine proposes to create a new International Exchange Program for Minority Students. The goal of the program is to nurture minority students' interests in science and medicine by enhancing their research capacity in a way that validates their unique cultural and linguistic abilities. The goal will be achieved through the following specific aims: 1) To select, train and nurture a cadre of underrepresented minority students at the undergraduate, masters and predoctoral levels in basic concepts of health disparities research in order to motivate them to become important participants in its solution; 2) To establish a mechanism for collaboration between minority trainees and research mentors in Latin America that will be mutually beneficial, will validate the trainees' potential, and will increase capacity for research in health disparities. To do this, minority students will be paired with mentors in Mexico, Brazil and Chile who have themselves been trained in public health research methods at Mount Sinai School of Medicine through their participation in an existing international training program. The new International Exchange Program will fit perfectly within the portfolio of funded grants that the Principal Investigator currently directs by providing a mechanism for bidirectional collaboration between minority trainees and investigators in Latin America. The International Exchange Program for Minority Students will emphasize collaboration and the exchange of scientific and cultural knowledge in an atmosphere of support for diversity. It is likely that this design will encourage all participants to gain increased understanding that will be applied to long careers in health disparities research.