Short-Term Training Program to Increase Diversity in Health-Related Research

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PROJECT SUMMARY The purpose of this proposal is to provide opportunities for undergraduate students from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds to engage in an intensive, summer research training experience. Individuals from diverse backgrounds are under-represented in biomedical and behavioral sciences. While the underpinnings of this issue are complex, the problem has been perpetuated in no small part due to major limitations in the educational pathways of trainees from diverse backgrounds. As a reflection of our commitment to this issue, the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine has been running an NHLBI-funded program for students from under-represented or disadvantaged backgrounds for the past 20 years, 15 of those as the current R25 program. We wish to build on this foundation and sustain this initiative. Our program was developed on the premise that the principal barrier to diversity in science is not a lack of talent, but rather a lack of opportunity. The program was created around an intensive research experience with an individual mentor, complemented by activities important to building communication and networking skills, such as making presentations in journal club and at a closing poster session, as well as seminars and workshops that address issues relevant to career-building in biomedical sciences. To date, through this R25 we have trained 194 students. Of the 167 students that participated in our program and have now graduated from their undergraduate institution, 148 have been accepted to, enrolled in or received advanced degrees from medical/graduate school. In addition, 16 students are working full-time in research positions with plans to apply to graduate/medical school, bringing the number of past participants actively engaged in the biomedical sciences to 98%. Of note, 111 students continued to publish after their R25 participation. Many of these students are physicians, evidence of continued engagement in research as they pursued medical training, creating an accomplished pool of physician scientists. In pursuing funding through this R25 program, we have three principal goals. The first is to provide a high-quality scientific experience to students of diverse backgrounds as a means of exposing them to, and persuading them of, the excitement of careers in biomedical sciences. The second goal is to provide students exposure to activities that will enhance their chances for success in biomedical careers, such as organizing material for presentations and seminars on the mentee-mentor relationship. Finally, we hope to continue to develop a network of contacts, role models and information that will help these individuals surmount historical issues of access to improve entry and success. Over the past 15 years, we have demonstrated our commitment to enhancing diversity in the biomedical sciences and success in expanding the pool of underrepresented individuals pursing biomedical science careers. Through this renewal, we look forward to extending this commitment and further broadening our impact.