Houston Education and Research Training Program for Post-docs

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The HEART (Houston Education And Research Training) Program IRACDA will be a transportable model for postdoctoral training that combines frontier level biomedical research and training to teach in minority serving institutions (MSI). The HEART will increase the supply of future faculty who can inspire and train the biomedical researchers of tomorrow. The project will include UR post-doctoral fellows when possible, providing role models for undergraduates. Materials developed through this project will be available to other institutions. Funding from NIH will allow postdocs to combine research at one of the nation's top biomedical institutions, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)with teaching at MSIs in the Houston area; Prairie View A& M University, St Thomas University and the University of Houston Downtown. HEART Scholars will be engaged in research throughout the 4-year program. During the first VA years of the program, they will establish their laboratory research project, attend workshops on effective teaching strategies, minority health disparities and how to interact with and mentor undergraduates to enter biomedical Ph.Dprograms. They will attend ethics and career development workshops throughout the program. In the second year, Scholars will select a class to teach during the third year of the program. In the last half of the second year, the Scholars will observe the teacher in the class they will teach or a related class and begin planning their lectures with incorporation of leading edge technology and knowledge. They will keep a journal of observations to help them identify successful and less successful approaches to teaching. During the third year of the program, the fellows will teach or co-teach one class/semester, introducing cutting-edge technology and knowledge into classes to better prepare undergraduates for careers in biomedicine. They will be evaluated by the teaching mentor to assess their effectiveness and receive mentoring to enhance their teaching. During the fourth year the Scholars will continue research and complete manuscripts. The Pi will conduct workshops on applying to graduate school at one or more campuses each year, with each session open to students from all campuses and serve as an external advisor to students interested in biomedical Ph.D. study. The HEART IRACDA will provide valuable research and college level teaching experience to post- doctoral fellows at one of the nation's top biomedical institutions so that they can inspire and better prepare students from minority serving institutions to enter biomedical Ph.D, programs and careers through which they may work on diseases that disproportionately affect under-served populations and foster delivery of health information to minority communities.