G-RISE at UC Merced

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We propose a graduate research training program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Science and Technology (I-BioSTeP) at the University of California Merced, a Hispanic-serving institution that opened in 2005. The major objective of this program is the establishment of the first doctoral level graduate training program at UC Merced in the biomedical sciences to train diverse cohorts of students to identify and solve pressing biological problems using quantitative interdisciplinary approaches that prepare them for competitive careers in the biomedical field. Transformative advances in the biomedical research arena increasingly require contributions from many different fields and I-BioSTeP leverages the uniquely interdisciplinary structure at UCM, to join faculty from six different departments forming a diverse, interdisciplinary research community with a common vision for research and education. Because UCM is still in its developmental stages, an initiative like I-BioSTeP can have truly transformative impact by establishing a nucleus of high quality training and research on campus. As part of the program we will establish an I- BioSTeP designated emphasis (a graduate minor) open to all graduate students in science and engineering who participate in the new coursework we are developing, thus enhancing the overall graduate training offerings on campus. Opening a training program for the highly skilled biomedical research workforce of tomorrow at UC Merced will also have an enormous impact on the region, producing a diverse cohort of trained professionals that will raise the economic and educational standards of the surrounding educationally and economically disadvantaged communities. The specific objectives of our program are (i) to increase the diversity of our trainee cohorts (ii) to ensure retention and speed up the time to degree (iii) to produce graduates with a broad training in an interdisciplinary curriculum for biomedical sciences and (iv) to inculcate a sense of belonging and teamwork skills and (v) to ensure successful transition into the biomedical research workforce. There are many unique aspects of our proposed program that specifically address these objectives including the diversity of our current graduate student body and applicant pool that we target, a core interdisciplinary curriculum of courses with lab components, a summer bridge program that addresses retention by bringing students out two months before classes and immersing them in hands-on training, mentoring and professional development such as fellowship proposal writing, an interdisciplinary multiple mentor structure and a unique career development program that focuses on specific skills that are important in the biomedical research workforce but are commonly not addressed in such training programs - business/entrepreneurial skills and science communication skills.