Promoting Research Opportunities Fully--Prospective Academics Transforming Health

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Project Abstract Minority students appear to enter medical school with the intent of pursuing academic careers in similar (Latino) or only slightly reduced (African American) proportions as their white counterparts, yet fewer health disparities population (HDP) students indicate the same intent upon graduation from medical school or residency. Early experiences appear to strongly influence career choices, and early negative experiences may be particularly harmful to the academic career development of minority students. Multiple studies of minority and women students indicate that the academic medicine path is smoothed by appropriate mentoring and targeted social support to ease ongoing stress and overcome common and background-specific hurdles. Despite UCSF's stature as a preeminent research institution, and the existence of several well-structured research programs and opportunities for trainees, UCSF has not yet translated its outstanding success in the recruitment of HDP students into large numbers of HDP students selecting careers in academic medicine. We propose to use this R25 (c) mechanism to create an innovative education research program, PROF-PATH: Promoting Research Opportunities Fully--Prospective Academics Transforming Health. Based on social cognitive career theory, PROF-PATH will create new research training opportunities for HDP students from UCSF's four health professional schools; enhance the ability of existing programs in fully supporting HDP students in an academic career path; promote opportunities for early, entrance into successful research experiences, and increase the capacity of local research faculty to effectively mentor HDP health professional students in research. This ambitious program harnesses existing financial, administrative and curricular resources at UCSF.