Investing in the Future to Promote Diversity in GI Training

描述（由申请人提供）：为了扭转少数民族和女性研究医生的预计短缺，美国胃肠病协会（阿加）制定了一项指导计划，以响应NIH资助机会专业社会计划促进多样性（RFA-DK-11-014），以吸引代表性不足的少数民族，并鼓励他们从事医学和生物医学研究。拟议的计划，投资于未来，以促进胃肠道（GI）培训的多样性，利用阿加的经验和资源，以建立在成功的举措，达到目标的代表性不足和少数群体在五年内。关键的战略目标是招聘和留住代表性不足和少数民族（URM）的学生，并促进他们的学术和专业发展。致力于实现这些目标的阿加委员会包括学术医学和科学、社区医生、受训人员、URM、妇女和国际同事。阿加建议在投资未来计划（IFP）的基础上，重点关注历史上黑人教育机构的医科学生和GI研究员，并扩大URM学生到阿加的学生研究奖学金奖励计划的招聘。这两个项目都让学生接触到一系列基础，转化，临床和人口研究的职业和机会，并鼓励他们追求医学博士学位。和医学博士/博士程序.四位德高望重的学术胃肠病学家（即，Maria Abreu，Rick Boland，Bishr Omary，Vince Yang）作为项目负责人和导师拥有数十年的经验，将担任联合主要调查员（co-PI），为这些工作提供行政监督。此外，14名教师，连同共同PI，将作为导师与选定的学员在赠款的5年期及以后的工作。目标包括：1）培养和加强URM参与者对追求胃肠病学的兴趣，特别关注研究职业，2）在5年内评估和跟踪选定的学员，3）编写并向医学界传播该计划的最佳实践。该提案的具体目标是：目标1：扩大对未来计划的投资，以针对历史上黑人医学院代表性不足的少数群体;目标2：扩大目前的URM学生研究奖学金计划，并提供广泛的潜在导师和研究机会;目标3：在AGA主办的国家会议上建立一个以URM为重点的教育和研究论坛，包括年度消化系统疾病周和学术技能研讨会。阿加协会有着支持促进多样性倡议的悠久传统。拟议的计划扩展了这一传统，以最大限度地增加进入GI和肝病学领域的有才华的年轻人，并为日益多样化的美国人口提供服务。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): To reverse the projected shortfall of minority and female research physicians, the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has developed a mentoring program in response to the NIH funding opportunity Professional Society Programs to Promote Diversity (RFA-DK-11-014) to engage underrepresented minorities and encourage them to pursue careers in medical and biomedical research. The proposed program, Investing in the Future to Promote Diversity in Gastrointestinal (GI) Training, leverages the experience and resources of the AGA to build upon successful initiatives that reach targeted underrepresented and minority groups over a five-year period. Critical strategic objectives are to recruit and retain underrepresented and minority (URM) students and to foster their academic and professional development. AGA committees working to achieve these goals include academic medicine and science, community physicians, trainees, URMs, women, and international colleagues. AGA proposes to build upon the Investing in the Future Program (IFP) by focusing on medical students and GI fellows at historically black educational institutions as well as expand recruitment of URM students into AGA's Student Research Fellowship Award Program. Both programs expose students to a range of basic, translational, clinical, and population research careers and opportunities as well as encourage them to pursue M.D. and M.D. /Ph.D. programs. Four highly respected academic gastroenterologists (i.e., Maria Abreu, Rick Boland, Bishr Omary, Vince Yang) with decades of experience as program leaders and mentors will serve as co-principal investigators (co-PIs) to provide administrative oversight of these efforts. In addition, 14 faculty members, together with the co-PIs, will serve as mentors to work with selected mentees over the 5-year period of the grant and beyond. Objectives include 1) nurture and strengthen interest of URM participants in pursuing gastroenterology as a specialization with special focus on research careers, 2) evaluate and track selected mentees over a 5-year period, and 3) write up and disseminate best practices to the medical community on this program. Specific aims of the proposal are: Aim 1: Expand Investing in the Future Program to target underrepresented minorities at historically black medical colleges; Aim 2: Expand current URM Student Research Fellowship Award Program and offer a wide menu of potential mentors and research opportunities; and Aim 3: Build a URM-focused education and research forum within AGA-sponsored national meetings, including the annual Digestive Disease Week and Academic Skills Workshop. AGA has a long tradition of supporting pro-diversity initiatives. The proposed program extends this tradition to maximize the pool of talented young people entering the field of GI and hepatology and to serve the increasingly diverse U.S. population.