Integrated Empirical and Translational Research to Diversify the Scientific Workforce

 描述(由申请人提供)：尽管在过去的40多年里，数千人的努力以及政府和私人机构的大量财政投资，但科学劳动力多样化的速度一直非常缓慢。大多数旨在了解和改善这种情况的研究都集中在大学生和方法上：让他们继续学习STEM专业，增加他们对STEM领域的融合感，并增加他们进入博士课程的机会。来自代表不足的族裔和种族群体的学生在进入生物医学博士培训方面取得了一定的成功。然而，他们完成了博士学位和事业上的成功，甚至没有跟上这些微不足道的增长。在博士期间及以后，非常需要新的方法来提高UR个人的毅力和成功，但人们对毅力和成功下降的真正原因知之甚少。这项建议将合并两个旨在了解和解决这一问题的资助研究流：1)2008年开始的一项大规模的实证研究，研究生物医学博士生在其培训期间的经历和决策，名为“国家青年生命科学家纵向研究”(NLSYLS)；2)2011年开始的一项翻译研究，对一种新的指导模式进行随机对照试验，以增加学生接受的特殊和不均衡的指导，并解决年轻的UR科学家--“未来科学学院”(Academy)--所面临的孤立和额外挑战。这两项研究都借鉴了多种社会科学理论来解释学生在培训期间的经历，并设计了一种提高成功的干预措施。只有通过对许多学生进行长期的纵向分析，才能真正理解年轻的UR科学家成功下降的原因。它还需要比调查所能获得的更深入的信息。因此，NLSYLS从博士开始就采用年度深度面试。深入访谈的分析是极其复杂和耗时的。为了管理和分析海量的访谈数据，我们开发了新的数据简化和显示方法。对结果的解释也依赖于多个时间点。这项纵向研究刚刚达到了第一批学生即将毕业的地步，可以开始报道研究结果了。NLSYLS的规模、持续时间和深度都超过了过去的任何尝试。同样，学院不同于以往在理论基础、设计、执行、规模和持续时间方面的任何干预。高技能的教师导师被提供额外的培训，以成为学术生涯教练。在学院期间，教练和学生一起参加面对面的和虚拟的教练小组，这种小组已经持续了几年。教练正在对初级和高级博士生进行测试，同时进行控制。就像NLSYLS一样，学院的实验现在才到了我们可以开始观察它是否影响了对学术生涯的执着的程度。将这两条研究路线与持续的支持相结合，将带来非同寻常的新见解。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The rate of diversification of the scientific workforce has been extraordinarily slow despite the efforts of thousands of individuals and large financial investments from government and private agencies over the past 4+ decades. Most research designed to understand and improve this situation has focused on college students and ways to: keep them in STEM majors, increase their sense of fitting-in with STEM fields, and increase their entry to PhD programs. Modest successes have been achieved in the entry of students from underrepresented (UR) ethnic and racial groups into biomedical PhD training. However, their completion of the PhD and success in careers has NOT kept up with even these modest gains. There is a great need for new approaches to improve persistence and success of UR individuals during the PhD and beyond, but very little is known about the true reasons for the fall-off in persistence and success. This proposal would merge two funded research streams targeted at understanding and addressing this problem: 1) a large-scale, empirical study, began in 2008, of experiences and decision-making of biomedical PhD students during their training called "The National Longitudinal Study of Young Life Scientists" (NLSYLS); 2) translational research, begun in 2011, of a randomized controlled trial of a novel coaching model to augment the idiosyncratic and uneven mentoring students receive, and addressing the isolation and extra challenges faced by young UR scientists - "The Academy for Future Science Faculty" (Academy). Both studies draw on multiple social science theories to interpret students' experiences during training and design an intervention to improve success. A true understanding of the reasons for the fall-off in success of young UR scientists can only be achieved through longitudinal analysis over time with many students. It also requires much deeper information than can be achieved in surveys. Thus, the NLSYLS employs annual in-depth interviews from the start of the PhD. Analysis of in-depth interviews is extremely complex and time-consuming. To manage and analyze the large volume of interview data, we have developed new approaches to data reduction and display. Interpretation of results also relies on multiple time points. The longitudinal study is just now reaching the point where the first students are graduating and findings can start to be reported. The size, duration and depth of the NLSYLS is beyond anything attempted in the past. Likewise, the Academy is unlike any previous intervention in theoretical underpinnings, design, execution, size and duration. Highly skilled faculty mentors are provided extra training to become Academic Career Coaches. During the Academy, Coaches and students come together for in- person and virtual coaching groups which have been sustained for several years. Coaching is being tested on both beginning and advanced PhD students with concurrent controls. As with the NLSYLS, the Academy experiment is just now to a point where we can begin to see if it is impacting persistence toward academic careers. Integrating these two lines of research with sustained support will lead to extraordinary new insights.