UCSF IRACDA Scholars Program

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PROJECT SUMMARY – UCSF IRACDA Scholars Program The need for increased representation of a diverse workforce in biomedical research at the academic level is clear and well-documented. This renewal application requests resources to continue our four-year Scholars training program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in partnership with San Francisco State University (SFSU). The goal of the program, which began in 2007, is to increase the number of highly trained, successfully funded and sustainable research scientists, who will perform high level laboratory and teaching and increase the diversity of younger trainees in biomedical research careers to ultimately improve our understanding of health-related science. To this end, UCSF has partnered with SFSU to build a program that provides comprehensive science and teaching training for mentoring Ph.D. scholars who are committed to an academic career and impacting underserved minority trainees. The key elements of our training program are (1) a mentored research experience, (2) a mentored teaching experience at SFSU, (3) monthly career development workshops, (4) interdisciplinary scientific experiences and (5) continuing review and evaluation. The centerpiece of the program is the 4-years of training, with the initial three years covered by the training grant and the last year covered by the PI funds or Independent Development Awards. The majority of this training (75%) is devoted to intense research training in basic laboratory science with the remaining training devoted to teaching experiences at the SFSU campus and mentoring experiences with undergraduate underrepresented students from SFSU. Our exceptionally well- qualified faculty and teaching mentors have committed their support to our IRACDA scholars. Internal and external Advisors as well as periodic formal evaluations will be a critical part of continued excellence and achievement of stated goals of the Program. Each Scholar is expected to interact with a team of at least three Faculty Research Mentors and two Teaching Mentors during their training; meeting on a regular basis to assist him/her in setting, and then monitoring training and career goals. Our program has a strong track history of recruiting exceptional Scholars representing a diverse background. Of the 35 current and past scholars, nearly 90% are URMs. Of the 21 Scholars who have completed their training at UCSF, they have produced an average of 3.4 peer- review publications (0-9 range), and over 50% have assumed academic positions, with 80% of these at R1/R3 Research Institutions (Vanderbilt, UCSD, UCSF, U of Arkansas, Duke, Georgetown, SFSU and SJSU). We believe the Program's strong outcomes data, the collaborative research-intensive training environment at UCSF, and the well-established and fruitful interactions between UCSF and SFSU provide compelling rationale for renewing and expanding this unique training opportunity to train and diversify the next generation of leaders in biomedical science.