UC Davis MARC Scholar Program

描述（由申请人提供）：加州大学戴维斯分校MARC学者计划将准备代表性不足的少数民族（URM）学生进入与生物医学研究相关的领域的博士课程。为此，我们提出了一个双管齐下的计划：（1）Pre-MARC组件（称为加州大学戴维斯分校生物学本科学者计划或BUSP）-一个专业发展计划，为大一和大二的生物学学生，具有结构化和具有挑战性的学术增强活动，学术和个人咨询，以及早期的研究经验;和（2）MARC学者计划，为初级和高级学生，将建立在BUSP计划，包括密集的研究经验，以及一系列的活动，将提高学者的口头和书面沟通技巧;让他们参与多学科研究主题，研究诚信和实验设计的讨论;为他们提供建议和准备口头和书面科学报告的经验;为他们提供赠款写作的经验;并为他们提供研究生院申请过程中的指导。MARC学者计划的总体目标是增加在生物医学研究领域成功攻读博士或MD/PhD学位的URM数量。我们的具体（和可衡量的）目标是：（1）建立一个为期4年的计划，将提供一个坚实的基础，为URM学生进入并完成生物医学科学领域的博士课程[即，他们将以至少3.0的GPA在参与的专业毕业，在GRE的前50百分位得分，获得专业知识作为学生研究员关于理解实验设计和数据解释，并获得在区域和国家展示他们的研究的经验（例如，at ABRCMS，SACNAS）];（2）每年招募并录取10名对生物医学研究感兴趣的初级荣誉URM（第一年除外，随着课程的增加，我们将录取8名学生）;（3）至少有40%的高级MARC学者进入生物医学相关学科的博士（或MD/PhD）课程（即，平均4/年，而不是2.5/年从BUSP荣誉计划）。增加参与生物医学研究的统一资源管理的数量，对于增加对当前许多健康问题-包括与种族和性别有关的健康差距-产生影响的思想和背景的多样性非常重要。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The UC Davis MARC Scholars Program will prepare underrepresented minority (URM) students to enter doctoral programs in areas related to biomedical research. For this, we propose a two-pronged program: (1) the Pre-MARC component (called the UC Davis Biology Undergraduate Scholars Program or BUSP) - a professional development program for freshman and sophomore biology students that features structured and challenging academic enhancement activities, academic and personal advising, and early experience in research; and (2) the MARC Scholars Program for junior and senior level students that will build on the BUSP program and include intensive research experiences as well as a series of activities that will enhance the Scholars' oral & written communication skills; engage them in discussions of multidisciplinary research topics, research integrity, and experimental design; provide them with advice and experience in preparing oral and written scientific presentations; provide them with experience in grant writing; and provide them guidance in the graduate school application process. The overall goal of the MARC Scholars Program is to increase the number of URMs who successfully pursue PhD or MD/PhD degrees in areas of biomedical research. Our Specific (and measurable) Aims are to: (1) establish a 4 year program that will provide a strong foundation for URM students to enter and complete a PhD program in an area of biomedical science [i.e., they will graduate with at least a 3.0 GPA in a participating major, score in the top 50th percentile on the GRE, gain expertise as a student researcher with respect to understanding experimental design and data interpretation, and gain experience in presenting their research both regionally and nationally (e.g., at ABRCMS, SACNAS)]; (2) recruit and admit into the MARC program, 10 junior honor URMs interested in biomedical research each year (except in year 1, when we will admit 8 students as we ramp up the program); and (3) have at least 40% of the senior MARC Scholars enter PhD (or MD/PhD) programs in biomedically related disciplines (i.e., an average of 4/year as opposed to 2.5/yr from the BUSP-honors program). Increasing the number of URMs involved in biomedical research is important for increasing the diversity of ideas and backgrounds brought to bear on many current health issues -- including racial and gender-related health disparities.