Summer Research Experience for Minority Undergraduates

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Summer Research Program (MET-SRP) will provide an intense learning and research training experience in cellular and molecular mechanisms of toxicity for undergraduates who are members of underrepresented ethnic/racial minorities. This proposal seeks support of six undergraduate trainees each summer. The proposed program will have 21 faculty trainers, most of whom also are trainers on the investigators' NIEHS pre- and postdoctoral T32 Training Grant. The trainers have recognized expertise in molecular and cellular approaches to carcinogenesis, developmental biology and immunology, and are particularly interested in the mechanistic effects of toxicants on these biological processes. At the beginning of the program, the trainees will meet with the principal investigator, Christopher Bradfield, for a general orientation to the program. Each week, Dr. Bradfield will conduct a tutorial session featuring an interactive overview of environmental health sciences and a discussion of weekly reading assignments. In addition, the investigators will provide an advisory session on graduate study and careers in environmental health sciences. Each trainee will have a Molecular and Environmental Toxicology graduate student mentor, and trainees will meet with other graduate students at various scheduled events. At the end of the program, trainees will give a 20-minute scientific research presentation at a symposium open to participants in the various campus summer programs in the biomedical sciences. The MET-SRP will partner with the Integrated Biological Sciences Summer Research Program (IBS-SRP), which coordinates seven summer research programs serving 40-46 students in various biological sciences disciplines at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Overall, the IBS-SRP is one of twelve Summer Research Opportunity Programs (SROP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which served a total of 110 students in the summer of 2010. The trainees will participate in a variety of joint events as part of the IBS-SRP and SROP communities. These will include a Welcome Dinner hosted by the Graduate School, a movie night and ethics discussions. These activities will provide a chance for the trainees to interact with many other trainees from underrepresented groups with an interest in a scientific career. Public Health Relevance: This application is for support of a summer research training experience for undergraduate students who are members of underrepresented racial or ethnic minorities. One goal of this program is to increase the exposure of the targeted undergraduate populations to the possibility of careers in the Environmental Health Sciences. Along with encouraging the trainees' interest in scientific research, the summer program will also provide them with valuable experience and improve their chances of acceptance to advanced degree programs in the biomedical sciences. Additional, the program aims to increase the diversity of the scientific workforce.