NIA MSTEM: Advancing Diversity in Aging Research through Undergraduate Education at the University of the District of Columbia

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Through our NIA MSTEM Project (Advancing Diversity in Aging Research through Undergraduate Education at the University of the District of Columbia) we seek to create and foster aging-related research and curricular experiences for underrepresented minority (URM) students at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), a historically black college and university (HBCU). Of significant societal relevance, is our long-term goal to increase the number of URM professionals aimed at solving problems tied to aging via research investigations (studies) and interventions (designs and devices). It is projected that the number of individuals older than 50 years of age will increase to 1.2 billion by 2025 worldwide, however, aging-related research training is nascent at the undergraduate levels & diversity is limited. The objectives of this project are to create and foster aging-related: 1) research experiences (tied to falls, imaging, and data analytics); 2) new and unique curricular experiences tied to freshman and senior design projects, practicum & seminars, and professional student club activities; and 3) professional development via mentorship, dissemination and outreach for the URM undergraduate student demographic at UDC. Our central hypothesis is that through the above objectives we will produce a diverse cadre of professionals that are well-equipped to solve issues tied to aging. This project is distinct, yet dovetails nicely with, previous and current sponsored research activities at UDC focused on undergraduate aging-related (balance) research and Biomedical Engineering (BME) education. The project’s contribution is significant in that it will lead to new scientific findings on aging-related research tied to balance & falls, imaging, and analytics, as well as increase the number of trained URM undergraduate students captivated by aging-related research. Research experiences, typically only available to students at the graduate level, will be provided to URM undergraduates at UDC. The proposed project is innovative in that it will capitalize on the fact that UDC is only 1 of 3 HBCUs nationwide with a BS in BME degree program and, more importantly, UDC is the only HBCU which currently fosters BME-focused aging research. Further, the project will provide URM undergraduates an unparalleled ecosystem in aging-related research, curricula, and professional development which interweaves a unique, meaningful network of the: UDC BME-focused personnel, the Department on Aging and Community Living (DACL) which has community sites across all 8 wards of Washington, DC, and the UDC Institute of Gerontology (IOG). Further, this project may have an impact on and serve as a model for minority-serving institutes (MSIs) and non-MSIs nationwide seeking to create their undergraduate aging-related research and education infrastructure.