Bioengineering Research and Interdisciplinary Training – ESTEEMED (BRITE)

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ABSTRACT The proposed ““Bioengineering Research and Interdisciplinary Training – ESTEEMED" (BRITE) program, with an emphasis on Orthotics, Prosthetics and Rehabilitation represents a major research education initiative for Kennesaw State University to engage students with diverse backgrounds in positive and impactful undergraduate research experiences that empower them with tools of success to pursue PhD degrees for research careers in academia and industry. Over a four-year period, we will recruit underrepresented minorities, persons with disabilities, women and economically- and socially-disadvantaged students, and expose them to spheres of engineering and clinical discovery to provoke heightened and sustained interest in research inquiry. The program will immerse students into the clinical realm of orthotics, prosthetics, and rehabilitation through interactions with users of assistive technology, clinical rotations, faculty mentoring, a Capstone project, and work on an interdisciplinary research team. At the end of the four-year program, we will have trained student participants on essential research skills who will be well-prepared to eventually serve as the next technological innovators and leaders in bioengineering with more diverse and enriched perspectives of possibilities. We aim to accomplish, measure, and assess the following main objectives: 1) We will recruit 32 academically-outstanding high school students from the target underrepresented groups for this proposed research training program through partnerships with a major state government sponsored STEM education program, a private Georgia STEM education foundation, and a regional high school STEM administrator. 2) We will implement a vigorous participant retention plan that will be ongoing and administered by an Academic Success advisory team. 3) We will offer motivating, rigorous and impactful research training experiences through the following core elements: summer bridge program, summer research experience, honors program, faculty mentorship, and Capstone project. 4) The trainees will participate actively on an interdisciplinary research team. 5) The students will obtain dedicated faculty research mentoring and career counseling to ready them for graduate studies. 6) The trainees will increase their research competency skills through specialized instruction and practice. 7) Graduating BRITE participants will gain admission into masters/doctoral programs related to bioengineering.