Aspirnaut Undergraduate Discovery Science Experience in Renal Biology and Disease

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There is critical national need for educational innovations that recruit undergraduate students into STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines and increase the number of scientists who conduct research in areas relevant to the NIH mission, particularly that of NIDDK. There is a dearth of diverse STEM- oriented undergraduate students, those from geographically- and economically-disadvantaged backgrounds and underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups and who are American Indians, to recruit into STEM careers. Moreover, shortfalls in STEM achievement in K-12 students threaten the pipeline for entry of STEM undergraduates into advanced studies and the STEM workforce. To address these challenges, we established a novel initiative in 2009, called the Aspirnaut™ K-20 STEM Pipeline for Diversity (www.aspirnaut.org), at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). The overarching goal was to develop a model to elevate STEM achievement and increase the number and diversity of students that entered the STEM workforce. The Aspirnaut™ initiative was enabled by a 2-year NIDDK grant, awarded under the auspices of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The trainee outcome and research program served as the Pilot Data for a NIDDK R25 grant that was awarded to us in 2012 that paved the way to establish the “Aspirnaut Discovery Science Experience in Renal Biology and Disease.” In this renewal, we propose to leverage our success to further increase the number of diverse undergraduate students that pursue STEM careers relevant to the NIDDK mission. We will implement several mentoring innovations, piloted over the previous funding cycle, to perfect a holistic model of discovery science experiences augmented with professional skills development and guided self-discovery. The specific aims are: Aim 1. To recruit 40% of participants from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and American Indians and 70% from geographically- and/or economically-disadvantaged backgrounds and/or limited family level of education. Aim 2. To engage 10 undergraduate students per year in a research experience on the topic of “Renal Biology and Disease” Aim 3. To augment the discovery science experience with professional skills development and guided self- discovery. The anticipated outcomes will establish a holistic model for recruiting and increasing the number and diversity of undergraduates entering STEM disciplines of relevance to the NIDDK mission. .