RUUTEs: Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) for Minorities

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PROJECT SUMMARY While significant educational barriers exist for minority, disadvantaged, and underrepresented groups it has been shown that undergraduate research programs targeting these individuals increases both enrollment in graduate programs and the number of individuals pursuing careers in the sciences. Therefore, developing undergraduate research programs for minority, disadvantaged, and underrepresented student groups will be vital for increasing their participation in health science graduate programs and career in the biomedical sciences. Groups nationally underrepresented, as defined by the NIH, include racial and ethnic groups but also individuals from disadvantaged background (rural, low-income or medically underserved area). Indeed, many rural areas across the US face unique health and educational challenges and Utah is not immune from these. Rural residents are more likely to die from health issues like cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, and stroke and fare poorly across many social determinants of health compared to urban populations. In addition, students from rural areas often lack educational resources including access to high-speed internet, AP coursework, or extracurricular opportunities. They also struggle with reduced exposure to career pathways and appropriate role models. Indeed, Utah’s rural students have lower college entrance exam scores and are less likely to enter college. With these unique challenges in mind the Rural and Underserved Utah Training Experience (RUUTE) & Regional Affairs program was established in 2018 at the University of Utah. RUUTE was developed as a concerted effort to extend the University of Utah’s Health Sciences resources to rural and underserved communities throughout the Intermountain West and to create unique opportunities for health science education and professional development. The RUUTE office has expanded rapidly over the past 4 years (from 1 program coordinator in 2018 to 10 faculty and staff members), and continues to develop new programs each year. One of the newest RUUTE initiatives was the development of a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), piloted in the summer of 2021. to provide a high quality 10-week mentored research opportunity for undergraduates from rural areas in the Intermountain West. The SURE program has an overarching goal to provide students with academic, research, and professional development experiences that will make them competitive when applying to health science programs in the NHLBI mission areas. To accomplish this, the current proposal aims to: 1) Develop a 10-week intensive summer research program focused on heart, lung, blood, and sleep-specific health concerns for students from minority, disadvantaged, and underrepresented backgrounds from the Intermountain West; 2) Develop a concurrent 10-week education series and professional development opportunities to supplement the research experience; 3) Facilitate effective networking and mentoring opportunities for students to ensure retention of individuals; and 4) Determine the efficacy of the SURE program by tracking participants and through both mentor and mentee feedback.