Short-term Research Training Program for Minority Students

描述(申请人提供)：西奈山医学院预防医学系拟为少数民族学生开展短期培训计划。该方案的目标是培养少数族裔学生对科学和医学的兴趣，方法是提高他们的研究能力，支持多学科教育，使用以社区为基础的战略来减少在当地少数族裔社区非常普遍的心肺疾病。拟议的计划将建立在现有计划的基础上，该计划为少数族裔学生提供环境健康科学研究方面的培训，提供职业指导，并在该计划完成后指导许多参与计划的学生实现他们的职业目标。现有的方案被国家认可为培训少数族裔学生的典范，并得到了NIEHS 15年的持续支持。一旦NIEHS计划因资金流结束而取消，首席调查员将寻求NHLBI的支持以继续该计划。这一过渡是无缝的，因为该计划已经将重点放在社区环境中的呼吸系统疾病上，这是首席研究人员的专业领域。目前的提案建立在前一个项目最有效的特点基础上，并得到了该部门成员的强有力的机构支持，他们中的许多人对社区和职业肺部健康有浓厚的研究兴趣。此外，该计划将通过与西奈山的其他教育计划合作得到加强，这些计划将使学生接触到丰富的机会和职业选择。这将通过提供弥合学科之间差距的培训机会来实现。具体目标是：1)挑选、培训和培养一支代表性不足的少数民族学生干部队伍，并激励和支持他们在卫生领域追求职业生涯；2)为参加该方案的学生在其整个职业生涯中提供长期的指导和指导。短期研究培训计划完全符合首席调查员目前领导的资助赠款组合，是西奈山预防医学部生活的组成部分。教师和项目主任的持续承诺和参与证明了机构的支持。为不同教育水平的学生提供的其他相关培训方案的创建也证明了这一点。该计划将为20名少数民族学生提供与社区和职业性肺部疾病相关的健康科学方面的培训和指导。 公共卫生相关性：预防医学系为少数族裔学生提供短期培训和指导有着悠久的历史。在该项目的资金流结束后，该部正在寻求继续支持少数族裔学生，方法是将该项目的重点重新放在影响社区的呼吸系统疾病上，如哮喘，以及职业引起的肺部疾病，如世贸中心灾难期间暴露在工人身上的那些疾病。预计完成该项目后，学生将为从事健康研究事业做好更好的准备。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Department of Preventive Medicine of Mount Sinai School of Medicine proposes to develop the Short-term Training Program for Minority Students. The goal of the Program is to nurture minority students' interests in science and medicine by enhancing their research capacity in a way that supports multidisciplinary education using community-based strategies to reduce cardiopulmonary diseases, which are highly prevalent in local minority communities. The proposed program will build on an existing program that has provided training in environmental health sciences research for minority students, offered career mentoring and guided many participating students after the completion of the Program towards achieving their professional goals. The existing program received national recognition as a model for training minority students and had continued support from the NIEHS for 15 years. Upon cancellation of the NIEHS program due to end of the funding stream, the Principal Investigator seeks support from NHLBI to continue the program. This transition is seamless as the program already had a strong focus on respiratory disease in community settings, an area of expertise of the principal investigator. The current proposal builds on the most effective features of the previous program and counts with strong institutional support from members of the department, many of whom have strong research interests in community and occupational pulmonary health. In addition, the program will be enhanced by collaboration with other educational programs at Mount Sinai that will expose students to a wealth of opportunities and career options. This will be achieved by offering training opportunities that bridge the gaps between academic disciplines. Specific aims are: 1) To select, train and nurture a cadre of underrepresented minority students and to motivate and support them in pursuing careers in the health fields; and 2) To provide students who participate in the program with long-term mentoring and guidance throughout the length of their careers. The Short-term Research Training Program fits perfectly within the portfolio of funded grants that the Principal Investigator currently directs and is an integral part of the life of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Mount Sinai. Institutional support is evidenced by the continued commitment and participation of the faculty and program director. It is also evidenced by the creation of other related training programs that are available for students at different educational levels. The program will lead to the training and mentoring of 20 minority students in the health sciences related to community and occupationally-based pulmonary disease. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Department of Preventive Medicine has a long history of providing short-term training and mentoring for minority students. Upon the end of the funding stream for that program, the department is seeking to continue to support minority students by re-focusing the program on respiratory illness that affect communities, such as asthma, and occupationally-induced pulmonary diseases such as those observed in workers exposed during the World Trade Center disaster. It is expected that students will be better prepared to pursue careers in health research after the completion of this program.