Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research

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EXCEED THE SPACE PROVIDED. This proposal is to continue funding.; of the current U*STAR program, which addresses the under representation of minorities in Ph.D. programs in the biomedical sciences by providing exposure to, and training in, laboratory research. This effort is being accomplished by combining the student population (>70% minority) and faculty at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) with the faculty and research facilities at Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute (REI). The major emphasis of the program is the "hands-on" training in the research laboratories of identified faculty and is complemented by a number of supportive activities, the enrollment in a curriculumthat provides the critical "underpinnings" of the conduct of science (i.e. ethics, human subjects, radiation safety, etc.) plus the opportunity for summer research experience opportunitiesat external sites. This Program provides a number of enrichment activities to ensure "student success" and enhance achievement of successful careers in doctoral programs. Directly relevant to the objective arc the developmental activities directed toward the "prc-MARC" students, as these are instrumental in expanding the qualified U*STAR pool and providing a impetus for more students to have an interest in continuing their education in the sciences. These activities focus on individualized and pcrsonali/.cd attention to the students by the program faculty by the active participationof the students in seminars, meetings with visiting scientists, workshops dealing with career opportunities, graduate school applicationsand summer research program choices, enrollment in an abridged version of the research training curriculum course as well as targeted social gatherings. Specific measurable goals for achieving the objective of the proposal are correlated to these activitiessince they arc designed to increase the number of minority honor students who qualify for the program, increase the pool of the students (via "pre-MARC" activities),increase recruitment activities at high schools (outreach) and increase "follow-up"of graduates. The collaborative efforts of CSUDH and REI in this U*STAR proposal represent the type of effort that is essential to address effectively undcrrcprcsentation of minorities in science, specific to the South Central Los Angeles community. The existing CSUDH U*STAR Program has successfully began to accomplish the MARC objective and this renewal is a request to continue this Program. PERFORMANCE SITE ========================================Section End===========================================