Iowa-Diversifying Research And Mentorship (iDREAM)

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Project Summary/Abstract The future of Neuroscience must include representation of all people; such diversity is crucial to fuel the innovation required to meet current scientific and healthcare challenges facing neuroscientists. In response to RFA-NS-22-035, we propose a Doctoral Readiness training program – the Iowa Diversifying Research And Mentorship (iDREAM) program. The iDREAM program leverages the power of (1) an outstanding Neuroscience Graduate Program with long-running T32 support (JSPTPN), and (2) a strong institutional unit, the Iowa Neuroscience Institute, which supports rigorous culturally aware faculty development and will provide crucial administrative support for iDREAM. We have formed a compelling MPI leadership plan with a blend of experience, skills sets, and energy. We will train four iDREAM post-bac scholars per year, for two years each, drawn from a large pool of applicants from backgrounds underrepresented in Neuroscience and schools without substantial research opportunities. Our Neuroscience Graduate Program is regularly composed of >20% URM students and has a stellar track record of training future tenure-track faculty (>50%). iDREAM scholars will be introduced to Neuroscience research via high-quality, hands-on research experiences in the laboratories of carefully selected preceptors with manifest commitments to the iDREAM mission. Scholars will receive rigorous training in the responsible conduct of research, evidence-based didactic training in the critical thinking and communication skills necessary for a successful research career, and programmatic experiences designed to cultivate an inclusive environment and sense of belonging within the local and global Neuroscience communities. iDREAM scholars will partner with grad students in the Neuroscience Program for near-peer mentorship experiences. Faculty research mentors are 28 well-funded neuroscientists with culturally aware mentorship training and experience, who reflect the spectrum of gender, background, rank, and neuroscience research topics and approaches. The mentors will be matched with trainees through a guided interview process with careful oversight from the MPIs and Executive Committee. iDREAM scholars will attend career development workshops, weekly scientific seminars and laboratory meetings, and present their research at multiple local and one national meeting per year. iDREAM scholars will also be guided through all aspects of the graduate school application process. Long term goals of the program include: 1) empowering URM post-bac trainees to be competitive at rigorous, top-tier graduate programs in Neuroscience (including at Iowa) and to lead successful scientific careers; 2) catalyzing progress of enhancing inclusive excellence within the Neuroscience community at Iowa and beyond; and 3) reinforcing and strengthening existing partnerships between the Neuroscience community at Iowa and schools without substantial research opportunities. Metrics of success include the number of participants who apply for and are accepted in a rigorous neuroscience graduate program, and students reporting a strong sense of belonging in the Neuroscience community.