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）寻求建立一个少数民族获得研究职业的学生学术研究培训（MARC U*STAR）计划，以促进少数民族在生物医学科学领域追求高级研究事业的发展。WSSU计划在该奖项的五年内实现以下可衡量的目标：1)我们的项目毕业生获得竞争激烈的生物医学和行为科学博士学位的录取率将从目前的8%提高到13%；2)我们将与正在进行的项目（MBRS， RIMI， NC Biotechnology等）合作，作为统一计划的一部分，使大学符合marc资格的学生数量相对于目前水平每年增加10人。目标是增加WSSU有才华的少数民族学生的数量，这些学生在学术上做好了充分的准备，在研究方面经验丰富，具有竞争力，可以进入顶尖的研究生课程，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)通过评论和发表期刊俱乐部论文，向学生介绍批判性的科学评价；3)以海报形式展示研究成果，提供科学写作和演讲经验；4)让学生接触研究人员；5)通过体验相关科学研究的兴奋和挑战，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。我们的队列将包括四名初级学员和四名高级学员。我们还提出了pre-MARC活动，其目标是提高在WSSU大一和大二招募和留住有才华的少数民族理科生的成功率。前两年的本科课程在各种生物医学科学是严格和苛刻的。正是在这个时候，这些学科的人员流失最严重，甚至在有天赋和天赋的学生中也是如此。我们的目的是为五名大一学生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)介绍研究；2)参加专题讲习班；3)精心的学术广告；4)通过学生与WSSU理科教师和其他成功的理科学生的互动建立网络；5)提高生物医学成绩的辅导；6)参加生物医学系列研讨会；与维克森林大学的研究伙伴进行密集的职业咨询和长期指导。最后，我们期望这个项目的结果将使进入竞争激烈的博士项目的学生人数从目前的8%增加到生物医学/行为科学专业总人数的13%，这代表了适度的5%的增长。该机构在过去五年中进入博士课程的毕业生目前的基线状况是8%，即298名学生中的25名。这意味着平均每年有五名学生从事生物医学/行为研究职业，并获得博士学位课程，而其他人则选择从事医学，牙科或相关行业的工作。我们的目标是在五年内将院校人数增加5%，即平均每年增加3名学生，达到15名学生。这一适度增长意味着75%（每年4名大四学生中的3名）的MARC学生预计每年将进入博士课程，我们对实现这一结果持乐观态度。我们期望pre-MARC活动能成为一个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.