Towards a unified framework for dopamine signaling in the striatum

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Abstract Here we request supplemental funding to support .5 FTE of an administrative coordinator to assist with DEI and mentorship activities relevant to the parent U19. The parent grant for this supplemental request (U19NS113201) was awarded as a BRAIN Initiative award under FOA NS-19-003 – BRAIN Initiative: Team-Research Brain Circuit Programs – TeamBCP (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). This proposal is the consequence of the recent development of the Harvard Program in Neuroscience Post-Baccalaureate program (PiNBAC). PiNBAC is a program started in the last year to increase the representation of under-represented minority students (URMs) in top-flight graduate schools across the country; it brings in talented recent graduates that have a demonstrated interest in neuroscience and excellent academic qualifications, but who lack the deep lab experiences required to make them competitive for admission to R1 institutions. As this program has developed, it has been clear that faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students associated with the parent U19 are playing a leading role in mentoring PiNBAC students, and that this experience is significantly benefitting their training experience. We wish to further integrate the participants in the parent Team Dope U19 grant with the PiNBAC program, and in addition, wish to share our experience/coordinate with other U19 groups interested in either participating in the education of our PiNBAC students, or in starting their own post-baccaluareate programs. PiNBAC scholars are deeply embedded in the Team Dope U19 project and are active participants in the science; conversely, PiNBAC is an important component of mentorship training for U19 participants, as well as a central vehicle through which Team Dope instantiates its commitment to DEI. This proposal describes PiNBAC, its relationship to the parent U19, and the need for an administrative supplement to help support PiNBAC-related DEI efforts and coordination with the U19.