Engaging Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Minority Students in Aging Research

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in partnership with the Los Angeles Community College District propose the Engaging Students in Aging Research (ESAR) Program. Racial/ethnic minorities are severely underrepresented in the scientific workforce due to a myriad of local and systemic barriers, including a lack of exposure to biomedical research activities during their secondary and tertiary education. There is a critical need to motivate and equip lower- income underrepresented racial/ethnic minority (URM) community college (CC) students with the academic skill set to critically understand, explore and engage in aging-related scientific research. The Program’s main components include: 1) An Aging Research and Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Fundamentals Institute, where ESAR trainees will familiarize themselves with research fundamentals and participate in hands-on aging-related CBPR under the supervision of a research mentor and a community faculty advocate, and 2) A Pathway to Research Careers Continuum, where students attend workshops which will enhance their research and academic skills. Since California Community Colleges are the single largest system of higher education in the country, the proposed ESAR Program will provide important opportunities for URM community college students to receive research training as well as skills necessary to transfer to four- year colleges/universities. The Program’s overarching goal is to increase the number of URM students prepared to pursue careers in aging-related sciences and research. The Specific Aims are as follows: Aim 1: Provide mentored support and leverage aging-related resources of existing research training programs at CDU and UCLA to propel URM CC students in their trajectory as aging scientists, by implementing: Aim 1a: An innovative triadic mentorship model pairing ESAR trainees with: i) a Faculty Member in aging research, ii) a Community Faculty Aging Advocate, and iii) a Near-Peer Mentor. This mentorship model will provide multidisciplinary, methodological, academic, and community-partnered support for ESAR trainees to amplify interest in and develop research skills for a career in aging research. Aim 1b: Immersion of ESAR trainees in an aging-focused CBPR tailored research experience centered on the improvement of health outcomes among URM older adults in under-resourced communities. Aim 2: Deliver long-term educational guidance and support for ESAR trainees to 1) transfer to a four-year college/university and 2) pursue graduate and/or doctoral studies in a STEM field within aging research. Aim 3: Implement an evaluation and monitoring plan to continually assess and improve the effectiveness of the ESAR program, emphasizing: i) recruitment and retention of promising URM CC students, ii) quality of educational and mentoring plans focused on aging-related research, iii) successful matriculation into undergraduate STEM programs, and iv) ESAR trainee-led dissemination of community-driven scientific results.