Enhancing Virology Training of Underrepresented Minority Students through Summer Research

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

ABSTRACT Diversifying the biomedical workforce is a priority of the US government scientific funding agencies. To fulfill these priorities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority serving institutions have continued to play an outsized role in training underrepresented minority (URM) students. Specifically, Meharry Medical College (MMC) has been a leader in training URM students in basic, translational, and clinical research. Our graduate, medical and dental students are often first-generation college students, and first from their community to pursue training in biomedical research. Importantly, our trainees are role models for the next generation and often mentor and educate URM students post-graduation. Consistent with our history of providing care to the underserved since 1876, MMC is playing a vital role in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. As evident with other infectious diseases, COVID-19 disproportionally affects minority health, specifically African Americans and Hispanics. A key strategy to combat these evolving pathogens is to train the next generation of virologists from diverse backgrounds. The urgent need for a diverse workforce in virology is acutely felt during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the World and disproportionately affected the minority population in the US. Furthermore, increasing the number of virologists from URM backgrounds is also critical to fight against deadly diseases caused by viruses such as HIV, Influenza, Ebola, and others. To address this unmet need, we propose the “Enhancing Virology Training (ENVIT) through Summer Research” program. The goal of this program is to prepare and increase the number of URM students in virology-focused careers. This 10-week program will provide an intensive research experience for graduate, medical and dental students. A local, regional, and nationwide recruitment strategy will be employed to attract URM students. We will provide classroom teaching and hands-on laboratory training in basic virology, lectures/seminars on career- development, scientific writing, communications skills and networking. Each student will work under the mentorship of a faculty mentor from Meharry Medical College (MMC) and/or Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) on a research project that focused on virology. The participants will attend seminars that allow interactions with virologists and expose students to career opportunities in virology. The program will end with a one-day Virology Mini-Symposium where students will showcase their research. This mini-symposium will also feature a keynote lecture from a national/international leader from the virology field. Finally, the ENVIT program will track the career path of participants to evaluate the extent to which program goals were met, and identify areas for improvement. Evaluations from research mentors will also be used to assess and improve the program. These focused research experiences and career development activities will meaningfully increase engagement of URM students in the area of virology and diversify the biomedical workforce specifically needed to fight the existing and emerging viral pathogens.