Biomedical Research Abroad: Vistas Open!/MHIRT

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): H.G. Wells aptly remarked that human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe. This is perhaps more true today than ever before. Science is advancing at a dizzying pace, yet science literacy rates among the general population are declining. A well-informed public may be an essential component to the advancement of science to keep fear from blocking the path to new discoveries. The need to advance science, and to bring it to bear on improving the health of populations and individuals is particular pressing when one considers the growing health disparities among populations in this country. Many factors contribute to these disparities including access to health care, quality of health care, environmental pollutants, genetic and life style differences, and attitudes of health care providers. This proposal describes a plan to prepare students from health disparities populations to address health disparities in the nation and in the world. The program, called Biomedical Research Abroad: Vistas Open! (BRAVO!/MHIRT), enables undergraduate, graduate and health professions students to conduct research abroad that builds upon the research they do at the University of Arizona (UA). Student projects span a broad range of disciplines but all are related to biomedical or behavioral research. The project will prepare students to address health disparities in a variety of ways: 1) trainees will continue to develop the critical thinking skills that they have acquired doing research at UA; 2) working in a foreign culture enables trainees to examine their own culture and stereotypes in a way that will allow them to see the problems of others and to approach these issues in a new way-which is critical to solving problems; 3) trainees will become more independent and confident as they find that they can contribute to the scientific effort in a foreign country; 4) the skills trainees acquire will integrate them further into the scientific community and make it more likely that their views will be heard both by scientists and in their home communities. For 12 years, the UA BRAVO!/MIRT Program has worked to increase the number of underrepresented students who pursue careers in biomedical and behavioral research. Of the 79 MIRT trainees to date, 75% have continued on for postbaccalaureate degrees (40% to med school; 60% to grad school), 9% are working in research labs, 11% are undergraduates and 5% are involved in other activities (teaching, etc).