MUSC Short-Term Research Education Program to Increase Diversity

描述(由申请者提供)：该项目的主要目标是为16名有天赋的学生提供短期(10周)的心血管功能和疾病方面的培训经验。这种研究教育机会将提供给来自弱势背景、种族和少数民族的学生，以及在生物医学研究中代表性不足的其他人。长期目标是通过接触该领域广泛的研究活动而产生的兴趣，增加心血管生物学卫生专业的这类学生的数量。参与该计划的36名计划学院是根据他们在心血管疾病、心血管发展、心脏干细胞和再生医学、细胞信号和蛋白质组学等领域的积极研究计划挑选出来的，这些计划得到了NIH/NHLBI超过1140万美元的外部资金的支持。一些教员还对对非裔美国人造成不成比例影响的疾病进行临床和结果导向研究，特别是高血压、糖尿病和肥胖症。该计划的学生密切参与其中一个参与实验室正在进行的项目，并接触到进行基础科学和流行病学研究的许多方面。学生们还参加了一系列讲座，涵盖生物研究的前沿主题，重点是与心血管功能和疾病以及临床/翻译研究相关的主题。此外，该系列讲座还涵盖实验室安全和负责任的研究行为。在这份申请中，我们提出了一项新的倡议，将使这些学生有机会与访问研讨会见面 非正式场合的演讲者，以获得对科学职业的洞察。在培训结束时，学生们准备一份简短的书面报告，并就他们的项目进行口头陈述。他们还被鼓励在11月回来，在全大学的年度研究日上展示他们的研究成果。该计划将在每年年底使用定性和定量相结合的方法进行评估，包括对申请者池数据和招聘方法的分析，以及对学生的离职面试和调查，以及导师的反馈。此外，学生的职业选择和进步将通过与每位参与者的年度接触来跟踪。(摘要结束)

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary objective of this program is to provide a short-term (10 weeks) training experience for sixteen talented students in the area of cardiovascular function and disease. This research education opportunity will be provided to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, racial and ethnic minorities, and others who are underrepresented in biomedical research. The long-range goal is to increase the number of such students in health professions in cardiovascular biology through interest generated by exposure to a broad spectrum of research activities in this area. The 36 Program Faculty participating in the program have been selected on the basis of their active research programs in the areas of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular development, cardiac stem cells and regenerative medicine, cell signaling, and proteomics that are supported by more than $11.4 million of extramural funds from the NIH/NHLBI. Several of the faculty also conduct clinical and outcomes oriented research on diseases that disproportionately affect African Americans, notably hypertension, diabetes, and obesity. Students in the program are intimately involved in the ongoing projects in one of the participating laboratories, and are exposed to many aspects of conducting basic science and epidemiologic research. Students also participate in a lecture series that covers cutting edge topics in biological research, with a focus on topics related to cardiovascular function and disease and clinical/translational research. In addition, the lecture series covers laboratory safety and responsible conduct of research. In this application, we propose a new initiative that will give these students an opportunity to meet with visiting seminar speakers in informal settings to gain insights into careers in science. At the conclusion of the training period, the students prepare a brief written paper and give an oral presentation on their project. They are also encouraged to return in November to present their research at the university-wide annual research day. The program will be evaluated at the end of each year using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches including analysis of applicant pool data and recruitment methods, as well as exit interviews and surveys with the students, and feedback from the mentors. Additionally, students' career choices and progress will be tracked by yearly contact with each of the participants. (End of Abstract)