UC Davis MCB T32 Administrative Supplement to Recognize Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Mentorship

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PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT The NIGMS T32 predoctoral training program in Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB) at UC Davis is committed to supporting trainee diversity and providing enhanced training to support equity, inclusivity, and accessibility. The overriding objectives of this supplement are to develop and deliver a student-led and student- targeted curriculum to support improved mentoring and DEIA awareness. Two novel activities are proposed: 1) a 10-week graduate course termed “Mentoring Up in an Equitable and Inclusive manner” and 2) a monthly series of “mentorED” meetings that covers topics both overlapping and complementary with the 10-week course. The principles that drove our vision for this curriculum are that these activities should be 1) student-led; 2) student-targeted; 3) made accessible to the broadest audience; 4) designed to take advantage of and synergize with other institution- and student-led initiatives in mentoring and DEI; and 5) inclusive of trusted, supportive, and experienced faculty mentors to assist in the design and delivery of activities. The proposed activities were crafted to answer two pressing needs. First, graduate curricula are often too narrow and discipline-specific. They lack in providing students with instruction and practical tools aimed at navigating graduate school, maximizing their mentor-mentee relationships, and building resilience. As a result, students may report negative graduate experiences and their progress as scientists-in-training may suffer. These effects often disproportionately affect first-generation and underrepresented student populations. Second, graduate curricula often fail to sufficiently acknowledge that our society carries within it historical and deep-rooted injustices and biases. This may lead students from backgrounds and communities who suffered from biases and injustices to feel less supported, reduce their sense of belonging, and hamper their growth as valued members of the scientific community. We designed our curriculum to address both needs in parallel. We request support for two trainees carefully selected based on their outstanding potential as researchers and mentors, and their exceptional record of involvement in DEI issues in their graduate programs. We expect that our novel curriculum will significantly improve mentorship and DEIA awareness across a broad range of graduate students in biological sciences. Our practical focus aims to empower them to become agents of change, leading to a renewed focus on sustaining a climate of equity, inclusivity, respect, and justice in our institution.