Undergraduate Research Internships in Pathobiology of Diabetic Nephropathy

描述（由申请人提供）：有一个关键的国家需要的教育创新，招收本科生追求干（科学，技术，工程，数学）学科，填补管道与科学家谁在相关领域进行研究的NIH使命，特别是NIDDK。此外，缺乏面向STEM的本科生，特别是那些来自地理和经济上处于不利地位的背景以及代表性不足的种族和少数民族群体以及美洲原住民的学生。此外，K-12学生STEM成绩的不足威胁到STEM本科生进入高等教育和STEM劳动力的渠道。这些因素都是需要创新来克服的重大教育挑战。该提案旨在帮助招聘，准备和增加追求与NIDDK使命相关的STEM学科的本科生人数。我们假设：1）本科生的密集研究经验，包括问题的制作，设计和进行实验，以及演示和论证结果将有助于发展他们的STEM敏锐性，并将他们招募到STEM职业;和2）糖尿病肾病的研究经验将有助于招募他们进入STEM学科，作为肾脏生物学和疾病，特别是糖尿病肾病的研究基础。该提案利用了由NIDDK ARRA补充拨款资助的为期3年的试点教育计划，该计划建立了一个新颖的AspirnautTM K-20 STEM管道（www.aspirnaut.org），用于招募和培养不同的本科生和高中生从事STEM职业。研究主题为“糖尿病肾病的病理生物学”。这一主题是范德比尔特大学医学中心肾脏科和基质生物学中心的主要研究重点。具体目标是：目标1。为15名本科生提供“糖尿病肾病的病理生物学”课题的研究经验。“目标2。目标是40%的参与者是代表性不足的种族和族裔群体以及美洲原住民，70%来自地理和经济弱势背景。目标3：教导15名本科生如何成为农村中小学生的导师和励志榜样。预计这些成果将有助于从弱势和代表性不足的群体中招募更多的本科生进入与NIDDK使命相关的STEM学科。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a critical national need for educational innovations that recruit undergraduate students to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) disciplines that fill the pipeline with scientists who conduct research in areas relevant to the NIH mission, and, in particular, that of NIDDK. Moreover, there is a dearth of STEM-oriented undergraduate students from whom to recruit into STEM careers, particularly those students from geographically- and economically-disadvantaged backgrounds and underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups and Native Americans. Also, shortfalls in STEM achievement in K-12 students threaten the pipeline for entry of STEM undergraduates into advanced studies and the STEM workforce. These factors are major educational challenges that require innovations to overcome. The proposal seeks to help recruit, prepare and increase the numbers of undergraduate students that pursue STEM disciplines relevant to the NIDDK mission. We hypothesize that: 1) an intense research experience for undergraduate students involving crafting of questions, designing and conducting experiments, and presenting and arguing results will help develop their STEM acumen and recruit them into STEM careers; and 2) the research experience in diabetic nephropathy will help recruit them into STEM disciplines that serve as a foundation for investigation of renal biology and disease, and particularly diabetic renal disease. The proposal capitalizes on a 3-year pilot educational initiative, funded by a NIDDK ARRA supplemental grant, that established a novel AspirnautTM K-20 STEM pipeline (www.aspirnaut.org) for recruiting and developing diverse undergraduate and high school students for STEM careers. The research theme is the "Pathobiology of Diabetic Nephropathy". This theme is a primary research focus of the Division of Nephrology and the Center for Matrix Biology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The Specific Aims are: Aim 1. To provide research experience for 15 undergraduate students on the topic of "Pathobiology of Diabetic Nephropathy." Aim 2. To target 40% of participants to be underrepresented racial and ethnic groups and Native Americans and 70% from geographically- and economically-disadvantaged backgrounds. Aim 3. To teach 15 undergraduate students how to be mentors and inspirational role models for elementary and middle school students at rural schools. The outcomes are anticipated to help recruit increased numbers of undergraduates from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups into STEM disciplines of relevance to the NIDDK mission.