CADRE Program for Postbaccalaureate Training in the Neurosciences

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ABSTRACT Despite the diversity of racial and ethnic groups in the US population, there is a marked lack of diversity amongst research scientists. This is progressively more apparent moving further along stages of training and of the profession, from undergraduate through graduate research to faculty. This is likely because in research, as in many other professions, it is invaluable to have immersive early experience in the field to give individuals the skills and self-confidence to succeed. Talented individuals without access to such experience are in effect left out. We propose a comprehensive two-year post-baccalaureate (‘postbac’) program: Columbia Access to Doctoral REadiness (CADRE) to address this lack of timely research experience. It is aimed at recent college graduates of high potential who are interested in pursuing a research career in neuroscience but lacked research opportunities as undergraduates. The core of CADRE is a two-year research project advised by selected mentors within the Doctoral Program in Neurobiology and Behavior (NB&B) at Columbia University. Postbacs will choose a lab from a range of neuroscience areas including behavioral and systems neuroscience, cellular, molecular and developmental neuroscience, computational neuroscience, human cognitive studies, and the neurobiology of neurological diseases. They will be supervised by engaged and enthusiastic mentors chosen for their mentoring track record and skills, as well by a graduate student ‘buddy’ in the lab. Importantly, the postbac will be fully integrated into the lab like other NB&B graduate students at the same stage of training, attending lab meetings and journal clubs, discussing data and experimental design, and participating in lab social life. This will give the postbac an immersive hands-on experience of starting a research career. The postbac’s research project will also be complemented with coursework to strengthen their academic foundations. In addition, throughout the program, postbacs will attend seminars, lectures, and other educational events around Columbia University. In a step that is equally as important as the research experience, postbacs engage in events that foster networking and professionalism. Activities will include: 1) a professional development series addressing topics such as applying to research-focused graduate programs, professional writing and presentation skills, maintaining work/life balance, and assessing mentorship styles; 2) a career awareness series: “What you can be with a PhD?” 3) social and cultural activities around New York City, and get-togethers with students; and 4) professional events during the academic year such as traveling to two national scientific conferences, one in their first and one in their second year. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the program with a starting, a midpoint and an exit survey through the course of the two-year postbac. We will also gather long-term feedback from alumni.