U-RISE at Delaware State University: Student Training in Academic Research

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U-RISE Delaware State Unversity: Student Training in Academic Research (STAR) Summary: We propose to establish a U-RISE training site at Delaware State University (DSU) as a catalyst to attract, and to closely train, up to 18 undergraduate students per year in any of the biomedical research disciplines, totaling up to 54 trainees over the five-year period of the grant. Our STAR Scholars will be mentored and motivated to ultimately pursue their PhD degree and careers related to biomedical research. DSU, an Historically Black University (HBCU), enrolls about 4800 undergraduate students, with over 70% being members of racial and ethnic minority groups that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM. Based on best practices from the literature, we will implement an educational and research training program that will support successful graduation of our scholars and ensure that they are accepted to biomedically-related graduate programs, are motivated to attend, and are prepared for success. Our STAR Scholars will participate in two summer research internships, first on the DSU campus, and the second at a research intensive institution. Through the IDeA Networks of Biomdical Research and other connnections, we have identified a large number of partner institutions who will host our STAR Scholars in their summer undergraduate research programs, ensuring that they are matched with trained, experienced mentors. To support our Scholars, we have designed a series of activities, courses, and workshops that will provide knowledge and skills development to support academic success at DSU and in graduate school. Our Scholars will be supported by strong, culturally-competent mentors, who have completed an on-line mentoring course and participate in interventions shown to minimize implicit bias. To increase STEM engagement and self-efficacy and strengthen critical thinking skills among the broader STEM student community at DSU, our program supports professional development to faculty to integrate course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) into introductory STEM courses. We expect these early research experiences to increase retention and motivate more students toward careers in research. We aim that 90% of our DSU-STAR trainees graduate with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline, at least 60% of our trainees pursue a biomedical Ph.D or Ph.D/M.D. degree at a research- intensive institution, and at least 80% of those matriculants obtain their degrees. Furthermore, the DSU STAR program will also support initiatives to increase the four and five year graduation rate from 25% to 35% and 38% to 50%. Finally, we will establish assessment mechanisms to evaluate the program, to ensure its continuous success.