Summer Program for Undergraduate Rising Stars (SPURS), a Columbia University biomedical sciences pipeline program

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PROJECT SUMMARY This application is for a competitive renewal of R25 NS076445 to fund “Summer Program for Under- represented Students (SPURS)”, to be renamed “Summer Program for Undergraduate Rising Stars (SPURS)”, through the RFA-HL-21-168 mechanism. 100% of the proposed funding will be used to support SPURS students working on neuroscience projects central to the mission of NINDS. SPURS will provide an intensive, undergraduate biomedical research experience for talented African-American/Black, Hispanic Latino(a), Native American/Alaska Native, Pacific Islander, first-generation, and economically disadvantaged students in the neurosciences at Columbia University. SPURS will train 14 outstanding students each year who are undergraduates majoring in areas relevant to neuroscience and biomedical research.Columbia University's SPURS Program provides an intense undergraduate research experience on the campus of Columbia's College of Physicians & Surgeons (P&S) for talented students from backgrounds that are under-represented in biomedical research. SPURS participants are accepted from the City University of New York (CUNY) senior colleges, including Hunter, Brooklyn, Queens, and City Colleges, as well as universities and colleges nationwide. SPURS provides extensive training in basic and translational neuroscience research, and enhances the likelihood that the students will achieve a career in science by pursuing an advanced degree (M.D. and/or Ph.D.). To expand opportunities for under-represented minority undergraduate students to participate in high quality, focused and sustained research experiences in the neurosciences, the SPURS program leverages outstanding resources and faculty mentors in the neurosciences. Over the last funding period, applications have soared and in the upcoming period, we propose to continue training highly qualified minority student participants. Students perform hands-on research for nine summer weeks under the mentorship of NINDS-supported Columbia University neuroscientists (currently 89 Columbia University researchers receive NINDS support). In addition to specific training in neuroscience, the students have received in-depth training in research methodology including: (a) the design and analysis of experiments; (b) critical reading of scientific literature through journal clubs and discussions of ethics in science; (c) the presentation of scientific results at laboratory meetings; (d) presentation of their research at poster sessions; (e) an oral presentation of their research to an audience of scientists; and (f) career counseling. Finally, the research training will be provided in a uniquely enriching setting that includes weekly meetings with under- represented minority role models in biomedical research. The SPURS program addresses the critical need to increase the pipeline of highly qualified minority trainees into neuroscience.