Advancing aging research through development of minority gerontologists

描述(由申请者提供)：霍华德大学(HUADAR)建立老龄化研究前沿多样性(ADAR)项目的目标是在本科早期发现一批聪明的少数族裔学生，然后通过广泛的指导和培训，为他们成功竞争研究生学习和其他专业生涯做好准备。通过让他们在职业生涯早期熟悉老龄化研究，这群少数族裔研究人员可能会对在老年病学和老年学领域建立职业生涯产生直接的兴趣。发展HUADAR项目的理由是相当合理的，一个多世纪以来，霍华德大学一直致力于培训代表不足的少数族裔学生。霍华德的导师中约有97%是非裔美国人，美国国家科学基金会(NSF)最近的排名显示，霍华德大学是学士学位获得者最多的大学，这些人后来在全国一流研究型大学获得了科学和工程学博士学位。此外，霍华德大学通过积极的招聘努力，成功地在MStem领域招聘了几名教职员工，他们在老龄化和老年相关障碍的各个方面保持着积极的研究计划。因此，霍华德大学拥有理想的环境，可以在本科早期发现一批有才华的少数族裔科学家，并拥有所需的资源，通过指导为他们提供基础知识和研究技能，使这些学生在老年学跨学科领域出类拔萃。HUADAR计划的受训人员将100%包括代表性不足的少数族裔。大约7000名本科生在霍华德大学的29个本科生系和项目中注册，大约97%的注册学生是非裔美国人，67%是女性。此外，20%(或1400)的人主修生物、化学、物理、数学、工程和专科健康，超过80%的人表示自己的职业目标是医学。我们计划每年从MSTM学科招收五名学生，在他们大一结束时通过一项招生战略来挑选他们，其中包括：a)确定在 入门课程，b)参加荣誉计划的学生，c)教职员工的推荐，d)学生对广告、公告和口头演示的回应。建议的培训是为HUADAR学员设计的综合研究教育计划，包括以下部分：(1)开发两个关于老龄化的新课程，(2)在大二和大三期间接触霍华德各个实验室的老龄化研究，(3)参加著名老年学家的研究研讨会，(4)在霍华德大学以外的领先研究机构，如NIA巴尔的摩，德克萨斯大学健康科学中心，约翰霍普金斯大学，乔治敦大学医学中心，马里兰大学和华盛顿大学，(5)在大四期间撰写一篇荣誉论文/高级论文，(6)提供一对一的指导，打造成功的职业道路。因此，从大二到大四，我们有一个精心安排的计划，教育HUADAR学员关于老龄化研究的不同方面，包括老龄化的社会方面。所有学生和工作人员将被要求参加关于负责任的研究行为的指导。HUADAR的评估计划将包括课程评估、学生表现、教师效能调查、暑期研究经验调查、成功完成荣誉论文/高级论文。HUADAR项目的长期目标是通过科学培训和教育经验为少数民族学生培养未来的研究人员，我们将鼓励他们将寻求老龄化研究作为职业目标。因此，我们将接受NIA ADAR计划的目标，即“填补老龄化时期从本科教育过渡到研究生教育的空白，因为它与医学、科学、技术、工程和数学有关，以实现NIA健康差距战略计划的目标”。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of establishing the Advancing Diversity in Aging Research (ADAR) program at Howard University (HUADAR) is to identify a group of bright minority students from MSTEM disciplines early during their undergraduate years and then through extensive mentoring and training prepare them to successfully compete for graduate studies and other professional careers. By making them familiar with aging research early in their career, this cadre of minority researchers could be made squarely interested about building a career on geriatrics and gerontology. The Rationales for developing an HUADAR program is quite justifiable, for more than a century Howard University is engaged in training underrepresented minority students. About 97% of Howard's mentees are African Americans and National Science Foundation's (NSF) recent ranking put Howard University as the top producer of bachelor's degree recipients who subsequently earned science and engineering doctoral degrees nationally from top-tier research universities. Moreover, with an aggressive recruitment effort, Howard University successfully recruited several faculty members in MSTEM areas who are maintaining an active research programs on various aspects of aging and age related disorders. Therefore, Howard University has the ideal environment to identify a cadre of talented minority scientists early during their undergraduate years and it has the required resources to provide them with a foundation of knowledge and research skills through mentoring so that these students will excel in the interdisciplinary field of gerontology. Trainee compositio for HUADAR program will include 100% underrepresented minorities. Approximately 7,000 undergraduate students enroll at Howard in 29 undergraduate departments and programs, approximately 97% of enrollees are African American and 67% are women. Furthermore, 20% (or 1,400) major in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Engineering and Allied Health with greater than 80% declaring medicine as their career goal. We plan to recruit five students from MSTEM disciplines each year by selecting them early at the end of their freshman year using a recruitment strategy which includes: a) identification of strong performing students in the introductory courses, b) students enrolled in the Honors Program, c) recommendations by faculty members, and d) students responding to advertisements, announcements, and oral presentations. Proposed training is a comprehensive research education plan designed for HUADAR trainees which consists of following components: (1) develop two new courses on aging, (2) exposure to aging research in various laboratories at Howard during sophomore and junior years, (3) attending research seminars by prominent gerontologists, (4) a summer research apprenticeship opportunity outside Howard University in leading research institutes on aging like NIA Baltimore, UT Health Sciences Center, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown University Medical Centers, University of Maryland and University of Washington, (5) writing a honors thesis/senior thesis during senior year, (6) provide one on one mentoring to build a successful career path. Thus, from their sophomore year up to the senior year we have a carefully laid out plans to educate the HUADAR trainees on different aspects of aging research including the social aspects of aging. All students and personnel will be required to participate in instruction on the Responsible Conduct of Research. Evaluation plan for HUADAR will consist of course evaluations, student performances, faculty efficacy surveys, summer research experience surveys, successful completion of an honors thesis/senior thesis. The long-term goal of HUADAR program is to prepare minority students as future researchers through scientific training and educational experiences and we will encourage them to seek aging research as a career goal. Thus we will embrace the goal of NIA ADAR initiative to "fill a gap in the pipeline transitioning from undergraduate to graduate education in aging as it relates to medicine, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to fulfill the objectives of the NIA Health Disparities Strategic Plan".