Kentucky Bridge to a Biomedical Doctorate for Appalachian Students

描述(由申请人提供)：这是一个桥到博士课程是由东肯塔基大学(EKU)和肯塔基大学(英国)的教师的倡议，以准备在生物医学研究的职业生涯代表不足的学生。这项布里奇斯助学金的主要目标学生将是那些来自阿巴拉契亚地区的学生，这些人被认为是由于严重的失业率和贫困率而“陷入困境”或“面临风险”的人。其基本原理是 关注阿巴拉契亚贫困县是因为它们构成了EKU服务区的很大一部分，尽管这个桥梁项目也将努力从其他代表性不足的群体中招收学生。EKU和英国是这一特殊桥梁项目的理想合作伙伴；两所大学的地理位置都靠近这笔赠款的目标地区，这两家机构之间已经存在着牢固的关系，它们的毗邻将使Bridge的学生能够轻松地从EKU前往英国参加研讨会和课程。一项全面的计划被提出，在EKU期间为Bridge学生提供强大的硕士水平培训，为他们过渡到英国综合生物医学科学(IBS)计划做准备，在那里他们将攻读生物医学研究方面的博士学位。这项建议的目的是：(1)在EKU和英国教师的指导下，招收有才华的阿巴拉契亚学生参加EKU的综合跨学科硕士项目；(2)为阿巴拉契亚桥的学生提供继续博士水平培训所需的技能，包括需要书面研究计划书和论文、研讨会、课程和研讨会的密集研究经验；(3)提供机会在当地、地区和全国会议上展示阿巴拉契亚桥的学生的成就；以及(4)制定一系列衡量标准，以严格评估EKU-英国桥博士项目的成功，并在必要时做出调整/改进。由于EKU和英国的一批优秀的教师已经同意担任这个项目的导师，我们预计每年可以为这个两年制的硕士项目招收5名学生。 公共卫生相关性：该项目的目标是培养在东肯塔基大学接受硕士水平培训的人数不足的学士毕业生，为过渡到肯塔基大学的综合生物医学博士项目做准备。该项目将主要针对来自阿巴拉契亚地区的学生，阿巴拉契亚地区是一个贫困地区，已经是东肯塔基大学服务区的一大部分。这笔赠款的目的将提供全面的研究密集型培训，并包括一项评估计划，以确保该计划正在实现其规定的目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Bridges to Doctorate Program is an initiative by faculty at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) and the University of Kentucky (UK) to prepare underrepresented students for careers in biomedical research. The primary target student population for this Bridges grant will be those from Appalachian counties considered to be "distressed" or "at-risk" due to their significant unemployment and poverty rates. The rationale to focus on distressed Appalachian counties is that they comprise a large part of the EKU service region, although this Bridges program will also endeavor to recruit students from other underrepresented groups. EKU and UK are ideal partners for this particular Bridges program; both are geographically situated close to the region targeted in this grant, a strong relationship already exists between these two institutions and their proximity will allow Bridge students to travel easily from EKU to UK for symposia and classes. A comprehensive plan is proposed to provide strong masters level training to Bridge students while at EKU to prepare them to transition to the UK Integrated Biomedical Sciences (IBS) program where they will pursue doctoral studies in biomedical research. The aims of this proposal are to: (1) recruit talented Appalachian students to a comprehensive interdisciplinary master's program to EKU with mentoring from EKU and UK faculty, (2) provide Appalachian Bridge students with the skill sets needed for continued training at the PhD level, including an intensive research experience that requires a written research proposal and thesis, workshops, courses, and seminars, (3) provide opportunities to showcase the achievements of Appalachian Bridge students at local, regional and national meetings, and (4) develop a series of metrics to rigorously evaluate the success of the EKU-UK Bridges to Doctorate program and make adjustments/improvements when warranted. With an excellent group of faculty from EKU and UK who have agreed to serve as mentors for this program, we anticipate the ability to recruit 5 students/year to this 2-year master's program. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of this Bridges to Doctorate program is to prepare underrepresented baccalaureate students with master level training at Eastern Kentucky University in preparation for transition to the Integrated Biomedical Sciences PhD program at the University of Kentucky. This Bridges program will primarily target students from Appalachia, a disadvantaged region that is already a large part of the Eastern Kentucky University service region. The aims of this grant will provide comprehensive research-intensive training and includes an evaluation plan to insure that the program is achieving its stated objectives.