U-RISE at St. Mary's University

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Project Summary/Abstract St. Mary’s University is a Hispanic-serving institution in San Antonio, TX, with a long history of successfully preparing underrepresented minority students to enter professional schools. For nearly 40 years, St. Mary’s has been committed to training the next generation of biomedical scientists through the MARC U*STAR Program. To continue and extend our 40-year efforts to train the next generation of biomedical scientists, the URISE program at St. Mary’s will build the pool of students interested in research by involving and exposing high school students to STEM research, providing interested St. Mary’s students opportunities to participate in biomedical research with faculty specifically trained to mentor undergraduates underrepresented in STEM, and providing individualized development training to a cohort of students intent on pursuing a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences. Specifically, our URISE program will provide 16 (8 junior and 8 senior) students a two-year training program designed to give them the technical, operational, and professional skills necessary to transition into research-focused higher degree programs and the biomedical workforce. We propose the following specific aims: 1) To build the interest of underrepresented students in research careers in the biomedical sciences and pursuing a Ph.D. degree in biomedical sciences through early outreach and interactions with local high schools; 2)To implement a research track curriculum designed to mentor, train, and engage underrepresented students in biomedical research (including community college transfer students) and increase the number of students interested in research careers. 3) To recruit and prepare a diverse pool of URISE scholars who complete their baccalaureate degree, and transition into and complete biomedical, research-focused higher degree programs (e.g., Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D.) and pursue biomedical research careers. The URISE program is expected to advance the research culture at St. Mary’s, increase the number of students interested in pursuing research careers and Ph.D.s in the biomedical sciences, and produce responsible biomedical scientists. Equally important, is that the broad exposure to biomedical science research will be beneficial to students who are not seeking higher degrees in STEM but, as a result, stay in STEM and join the biomedical workforce.