Building Bridges to Bioengineering

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Building Bioengineering Bridges (B3) will work with underrepresented minority students from Seattle Community College as they transition to baccalaureate degree programs at the University of Washington (UW) and other four-year universities. The B3 program will focus on how bioengineering and biotechnology can be used to solve global health problems. The B3 program will provide both academic opportunities and mentored research experiences for students and will include workshops and seminars to provide students will experience giving scientific presentations. The program will provide students with the background and experiences necessary to successfully transition from their community college to four-year universities. Through this effort, the partnering institutions will provide a source of outstanding URM students' interested biomedical research to a variety of departments within the UW and other universities. The B3 program will involve 10-20 African American, Hispanic American, Native American, and/or Natives of the US Pacific Islands students who are currently enrolled at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC). These students will enroll in a new course "Biotechnology & World Health." Students will also attend workshops and seminars presentations to gain experience presenting scientific research to various audiences. These experiences will provide students with the skills necessary to give scientific poster and oral presentations and to write for technical journals. A cohort of students who complete this course will be offered mentored-laboratory experiences within laboratories in the Department of Bioengineering, Material Sciences or other departments at the UW. Students who participate in the mentored laboratory program will present their work with other undergraduate students enrolled in other UW programs during a summer research symposium. We expect that in five years: a) the overall institutional transfer rate of students from targeted groups/populations from the participating associate degree-granting institution(s) to baccalaureate degree programs in biomedical/behavioral sciences will increase by 50%; b) at least 70% of the Bridges students, upon or before graduation from the associate degree program, will transfer to baccalaureate degree programs in biomedical/behavioral sciences; and c) at least 75% of the transferring Bridges students will successfully complete their bachelor's degrees in biomedical/behavioral sciences.