Bridges to the Future

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The collaboration between California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA) Los Angeles City College, East Los Angeles College, and Pasadena City College has been very successful in developing the careers of talented community college minority students. In the period since last review, 86% of the participating students that completed the program have transferred to four-year institutions, a rate that is four to eight times better than the transfer rates of students from these community colleges. We propose continuation of this effort that is making a significant impact on the entry of minority group members into biomedical research careers. We anticipate that 80% of the participating community college students will transfer to four-year universities in science majors. This is an ambitious goal as the transfer rate from these community colleges to four-year institutions is only 9-20% overall. The program we propose for continuation is deliberately designed to: 1) develop student skills in mathematics, basic sciences, and the English language as a foundation to high academic achievement in undergraduate majors in the natural sciences; 2) that students are motivated to careers the biomedical sciences through participation in solid research experiences and interaction with science faculty and other biomedical scientists, and; 3) that students are prepared for the transition from community college students to upper-division undergraduates at universities. Furthermore, we expect that at least 70% of those who transfer to Cal State LA and get further career development through participation in its MBRS-RISE or MARC U*STAR programs will continue to Ph.D. programs on graduation. The proposed program will involve many community college students beyond the 18 per year named as Bridges Scholars through many program activities such as special workshops, supplemental instruction to support success in science courses, and in seminars to motivate students about careers in biomedical research and broaden perspectives about career opportunities in the biomedical sciences. The overarching purpose of this Bridges to the Future effort is to increase the pool of well-prepared community college minority students who pursue biomedically-related majors, and significantly increase their rate of transfer to four-year institutions. This is the first step in a process that will prepare students for success in BS programs, and subsequently to pursue the PhD in the biomedical science. The relevance of the proposed project to the mission of the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences and its Minority Opportunities in Research Division is that the Biomedical Bridges to the Future program will significantly increase the participation in biomedical research careers by underrepresented minority group members who begin higher education at community colleges. The proposed project will develop considerable minority talent, broadening the diversity of intellectual perspectives available to participate in solving the nation's biomedical research problems.