Advancing Success and Persistence in Research Education (ASPiRE)

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Abstract Although substantial progress has been made in attracting individuals from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical research (URiBR) to STEM careers, the number of URiBR students in biomedical graduate programs remain suboptimal. Attrition along the career development path attenuates the impact of diversity programs targeting early stages of the pipeline. Reasons for this attrition are many, but include under-preparation, insufficient mentorship and networking opportunities, and lack of belonging stemming from inadequate representation at the faculty level. Weill Cornell Medicine has a longstanding institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, scientific excellence, and mentoring the next generation of scientists and physician scientists. The proposed program, Advancing Success and Persistence in Research Education, ASPiRE will augment current WCM efforts by focusing on a population not targeted by existing pathway/capacity building programs: postbaccalaureate scholars. ASPiRE will leverage existing programs, relationships with local and regional partner institutions (Cornell University, Hunter College, Brooklyn College) and WCM presence at national graduate and medical school recruitment meetings to recruit talented scholars who will benefit from additional support to be competitive for admission in PhD and MD/PhD programs. The selected scholars will be paired with a primary research faculty mentor based on their career interests, collegiate research experiences and the expertise of the faculty member. An additional faculty member, at an academic rank different from the research mentor, will serve as a career mentor. In addition, the scholars will be paired with current 1st or 2nd year URiBR graduate students who will serve as near-peer mentors. This tiered mentorship structure will ensure that our scholars have mentors and advisors at multiple levels of the professional development spectrum and thus exposure to the many factors and considerations along the academic scientific career path. The experiential research training will be complemented with professional development advising, coaching and skill building. We will also provide the expertise of an educational psychologist who will meet with students collectively and individually to assess and build personalized academic success strategies relevant to their roles as research trainees, graduate school applicants and future graduate/medical students. We expect that the combination of research education, career development coaching, tiered mentorship and community building activities will yield short- and long-term dividends. In the short term, we expect scholars to progress successfully to PHD or MD/PhD programs within two years of program participation. In the long term, we project that program participation will produce longevity as academic research faculty.