Broadening Research Achievement in Neurosciences (BRAiN) for a Diverse Workforce

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): Nearly 100 million Americans were afflicted by at least one of more than a thousand neurological diseases, according to data for 2011. The risk of dementia increases exponentially with age, with disproportionate effects on blacks and Hispanics. Finding effective treatments for neurological disorders and strokes requires fundamental knowledge of the nervous system and the participation of a diverse workforce to enhance our overall creativity. In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education named the University of California, Irvine, (UCI) as a Hispanic-serving institution, meaning that one-quarter of the undergraduate student body identifies as Latino and that half of all students receive financial aid. More than 50 UCI faculty conduct research in neurosciences, primarily in the Departments of Neurobiology and Behavior (NBB), and Anatomy and Neurobiology. NBB, which was established in 1964, was the first neuroscience department in the world (five years before the formation of the Society for Neuroscience) and it is ranked among the top by the National Research Council. Over the last 18 years, the UCI Minority Science Programs (MSP) has developed innovative interventions to improve the academic excellence and to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) undergraduates being trained as the next generation of biomedical researchers. The objective of the program Broadening Research Achievement in Neurosciences (BRAiN) for a Diverse Workforce is to facilitate participants’ career advancement from community college to UCI and from college to Ph.D. programs in neurosciences. The measurable objective is to increase by three-fold the number of URM undergraduates entering Ph.D. programs in neurosciences each year. Participants will spend two years being mentored and conducting research continuously. During the sophomore year, participants will join the MSP training laboratory, which is dedicated to developing original research projects while providing a nurturing and stimulating environment for URM students who have not taken upper division classes. Subsequently, participants will join one of the UCI laboratories dedicated to neurosciences. Participants will take courses in neurosciences, scientific writing and training in the responsible conduct of research. At the end of the program, participants will have attended 30 research talks by neuroscientists, developed strong quantitative reasoning skills (including computer programming), presented their research findings at two national conferences, participated as co-authors on a paper based on their research experience and gained admission to Ph.D. programs in neurosciences at top universities.