RISE Option III: Ponce School of Medicine MBRS-RISE Program

描述(由申请人提供)：庞塞医学院(PSM)请求NIH/NIGMS继续支持其成功的MBR少数民族研究计划(RISE)，该计划即将进入第一轮资助的最后一年。PSM MBRS-RISE计划的总体目标是提高波多黎各PSM生物医学博士项目毕业的代表不足的拉美裔学生的竞争力，并增加进入竞争激烈的博士后职位的代表不足的学生的数量。在上一个周期中，PSM MBRS-RISE方案(12名学员)对我们博士生的培训和整个PSM社区产生了积极影响。所有受训人员都有效地遵守了留在项目中的标准，并符合博士项目的时间表；此外，有几名学员过渡到了独立奖学金，现在正在毕业。我们的计划切实改进并实现了在我们的第一个资金周期中建立的基准。我们预计，此次续签申请将建立在这些成功的基础上，并适应几个重要的经验教训，从而继续我们的发展，从“非常好”到“优秀”的培训计划。拟议的申请将进一步改善我们已经成功的研究生计划的几个领域，包括高资质申请者的数量、专门的研究生课程和研讨会的可用性、经济援助、为准备研究生专业计划提供指导，以及完善我们的评估体系，以监督我们的研究生，并为不断改进我们学生的培训提供方向。该计划建议通过提高少数族裔学生的学术、研究、个人和专业能力来实现这些目标，以更好地为他们在生物医学科学领域的职业生涯做好准备。PSM Rise项目的具体可衡量目标是：(1)为PSM MBR-Rise学员提供“动手”的专业发展和研究技能培训；(2)为PSM MBR-Rise学员提供沟通技能培训；以及(3)为PSM MBR-Rise学员提供团队建设/网络机会。每一项目标的实现都将兼顾高效的持续活动，以及为满足学生新的需求而开发的一套战略性新培训内容。PSM MBRS-RISE计划将与现有的MBRS-SCORE和RCMI计划协同工作，通过提供训练有素的学生劳动力来实施资助的研究项目，并为创造新的研究计划提供动力，从而显著影响整个研究计划。 公共卫生相关性：PSM MBRS-RISE计划提供的强化培训将增加从事生物医学研究的拉美裔美国人的数量，并鼓励波多黎各生物医学研究的增长。通过为更具文化多样性的研究队伍做出贡献，该计划将促进针对少数族裔健康差异的生物医学研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Ponce School of Medicine (PSM) requests continued NIH/NIGMS support for its successful MBRS Minority Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) program which is about to enter the final year of its first cycle of funding. The overall goal of the PSM MBRS- RISE Program is to increase the competitiveness of underrepresented Hispanic students graduating from the Biomedical Sciences Ph.D program at PSM in Puerto Rico, and to increase the number of underrepresented students who advance to competitive postdoctoral positions. The PSM MBRS-RISE program (12 trainees) had a positive impact on the training of our PhD students and on the entire PSM community during the previous cycle. All trainees are effectively complying with criteria to remain in the program and are on track with the PhD program timeline; moreover several transitioned onto independent fellowships and are now graduating. Our program tangibly improved and achieved the benchmarks established in our first cycle of funding. We anticipate that this renewal application will build upon those successes and adapt to several important lessons learned, thus continuing our evolution from a "very good" to an "excellent" training program. The proposed application will further improve several areas of our already successful graduate program including the number of highly-qualified applicants, the availability of specialized graduate courses and workshops, financial assistance, mentoring in preparation for post-graduate professional plans, and refinement of our evaluation system to monitor our graduate students and provide direction for continually improving the training of our students. The program proposes to accomplish these goals through enhancement of the academic, research, personal, and professional competence of our underrepresented minority students to better prepare them for careers in the biomedical sciences. The specific measurable objectives of the PSM RISE program are to provide: (1) "hands-on" professional development and research skills training for PSM MBRS-RISE trainees; (2) communication skills training for PSM MBRS-RISE trainees; and (3) team building/networking opportunities for PSM MBRS- RISE trainees. Each of these objectives will be pursued with a balance of continuing activities that were highly effective as well as a strategic set of new training components that were developed to address the emerging needs of our students. The PSM MBRS-RISE program will work in concert with existing MBRS-SCORE and RCMI programs to significantly impact the overall research program by providing a better trained student workforce to conduct the funded research projects and provide the momentum to create new research initiatives. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The enhanced training provided by the PSM MBRS-RISE program will increase the number of Hispanic Americans doing biomedical research and encourage the growth of biomedical research in Puerto Rico. By contributing to a more culturally diverse research workforce, the program will foster biomedical research of minority health disparities.