Minority Access/Research Careers Undergraduate Student

描述(由申请人提供)：温斯顿-塞勒姆州立大学(WSSU)寻求建立一个少数族裔获得研究职业学生学术研究培训(MARC U*STAR)计划，以促进在生物医学领域追求高级研究职业的少数族裔的进步。WSSU建议在该奖项的五年中实现以下可衡量的目标：1)我们的项目毕业生进入竞争激烈的生物医学和行为科学博士项目的比率将增加到13%，而我们目前的水平为8%；2)我们将与正在进行的项目(MBR、RIMI、NC生物技术等)合作，作为统一计划的一部分，使该大学符合MARC标准的学生人数每年比目前水平增加10人。目标是增加WSSU有才华的少数族裔学生的人才库，他们在学术上做好了充分的准备，在研究方面经验丰富，以便有竞争力进入顶尖研究生项目，从而获得博士学位。我们建议使用一个简单的五项活动培训计划来实现这些目标：1)通过亲身参与研究项目向学生介绍生物医学研究；2)通过评论和展示期刊俱乐部的论文，向学生介绍批判性的科学评估；3)通过展示他们的研究成果作为海报，提供科学写作和演讲的经验；4)让学生接触研究人员；以及5)通过展示相关科学研究的兴奋和挑战的经历，培养在生物医学和行为科学领域追求职业生涯的长期承诺。我们的队伍将包括四名初级实习生和四名高级实习生。我们还提出了MARC前活动，其目标是提高WSSU一年级和二年级招收和留住有才华的少数族裔理科学生的成功率。各种生物医学科学本科课程的头两年是严格的，要求也很高。正是在这个时候，这些学科出现了最大的流失，即使是在有才华和天赋的学生中也是如此。我们的目的是为五名一年级和五名大二学生提供MARC前活动，其中包括坚实的科学课程，通过以下方式加强：1)研究入门；2)参与特别研讨会；3)仔细的学术广告；4)通过学生与WSSU的理科教师和其他成功的理科学生互动建立网络；5)辅导提高生物医学科学的成就；6)参加生物医学系列研讨会；以及7)与维克森林大学的研究伙伴一起进行密集的职业咨询和扩展指导。最后，我们预计，这一计划的结果将使进入竞争性博士课程的学生数量从目前8%的基线增加到生物医学/行为科学专业总人数的13%，即温和增长5%。目前该机构毕业生过去五年进入博士项目的基准状态是8%，即298名学生中的25名。这意味着平均每年有5名学生从事生物医学/行为研究职业，获得博士学位，而其他人则选择医学、牙科或相关行业的工作。我们的目标是增加8名学生(4名大三学生和4名大四学生)，使院校的人数增加5%，即平均每年增加3名学生，在5年内达到15名学生总数。这一温和的增长意味着每年预计有75%的MARC学生(每年4名大四学生中有3名)进入博士课程，我们对实现这一结果持乐观态度。我们希望MARC前的活动能成为提高许多生物医学专业学生成绩的渠道。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) seeks to establish a Minority Access to Research Careers Student Training in Academic Research (MARC U*STAR) program to promote advancement of minorities who pursue advanced research careers in biomedical science. WSSU proposes to accomplish the following measurable objectives for the five years of the award: 1) that the rate at which our program graduates gain admission to competitive Ph.D. programs in biomedical and behavioral sciences will increase to a value of 13% relative to our current level of 8%; 2) that we will work with ongoing programs (MBRS, RIMI, NC Biotechnology etc) as part of the unified plan such that the number of MARC-eligible students at the university will increase by 10 each year relative to the current level. The goal is to increase the pool of talented minority students at WSSU who are well-prepared academically and experienced in research to be competitive to gain admission into top graduate programs leading to the Ph.D. Degree. We propose to use a simple five activity training program to achieve these objectives: 1) introduce the students to biomedical research via hands-on participation in a research project; 2) introduce the students to critical scientific evaluation by critiquing and presenting journal club papers; 3) provide experience in scientific writing and speaking via presentation of their research results as a poster; 4) provide exposure of the students to research faculty; and 5) foster a long-term commitment to pursue a career in the biomedical and behavioral sciences through an experience that exemplifies the excitement and challenges of relevant scientific investigation. Our cohort will include four junior and four senior trainees. We also propose pre-MARC activities whose goal is to increase the success rate of recruiting and retaining talented minority science students in their freshman and sophomore years at WSSU. The first two years of the undergraduate program in the various biomedical sciences are rigorous and demanding. It is at this time that the greatest attrition from these disciplines occurs, even among talented and gifted students. It is our intent to provide pre-MARC activities for five freshmen and five sophomores that includes a solid science curriculum, enhanced by: 1) introduction to research; 2) participation in special workshops; 3) careful academic advertisement; 4) networking through interaction of the students with science faculty and other successful science students at WSSU; 5) tutoring for enhanced achievement in biomedical sciences; 6) participation in a biomedical sciences seminar series; and 7) intensive career counseling and extended mentoring with research partners at Wake Forest University. Finally, it is our expectation that the resultant approach of this program will increase the number of students gaining admission into competitive Ph.D. programs to 13% of the total biomedical/behavioral Sciences majors from our current baseline of 8%, representing a modest 5% increase. The current baseline status for graduates in the institution entering Ph.D. programs in the past five years is 8% or 25 of 298 students. This means an average of five students pursues a biomedical/behavioral research career leading to a Ph.D. degree program per year while others chose to pursue medical, dental or work in the related industries. With a cohort of 8 (4 juniors and 4 seniors), we aim to increase the institutional number by 5% or an average of three students per year up to a total of 15 students in five years. This modest increase means that 75% (3 of 4 seniors per year) of the MARC students are anticipated to enter Ph.D. programs each year and we are optimistic for achieving this outcome. We expect the pre-MARC activity to be a channel to enhancing the achievement of many students majoring in biomedical science disciplines.