Conference: University of Minnesota Minority Undergraduate Summer Research Program in Neuroendocrinology. The conference will be held at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

1990年代被宣布？大脑的十年？乔治布什总统和国会。 这一宣言肯定了许多人几个世纪以来所知道的：神经系统的至关重要性？在协调生理和行为过程中的作用，在不同的分类群。 这一总统/国会授权刺激了我们对神经功能理解的基础科学进步的新时代。 多年后的挑战仍然是激发新一代科学家致力于加速这一基础生物学科的进步。在招募有才华的学生从事科学事业方面，历史上代表性不足的少数群体一直存在差距。 神经科学中代表性不足的少数民族的数量少得可怜，尽管这些人口在美国不断增长。 一些研究表明，解决这个问题的办法是通过早期参与研究项目，加上学术和社会支持以及专业发展，吸引和培养这些学生。 接触有效的榜样，即代表性不足的少数民族成员谁取得了一定程度的成功，是有道理的，因为它让学生看到自己在类似的角色。明尼苏达大学少数民族本科生暑期研究计划的总体目标是建立一个严格的计划，以招募，培养，并指导有前途的本科科学专业，从传统上代表性不足的人群到行为神经内分泌学研究的职业生涯。 这个为期10周的课程的计划是1）招募这些学生在他们的本科生涯早期的科学生涯，为他们提供一个显着的研究经验，2）通过与其他研究领域的学生的顶点海报展示，让这些学生接触到生物科学领域，3）通过专业发展和持续的指导支持，保留这些学生在该领域。

The 1990s were declared ?The Decade of the Brain? by then President George Bush and Congress. This declaration affirmed what many had known for centuries; the critical importance of the nervous system?s role in coordinating physiological and behavioral processes across a diverse set of taxa. This Presidential/Congressional mandate spurred on a new era of basic science advances in our understanding of neural function. The challenge many years later remains to excite a new generation of scientists committed to accelerating the advances made in this fundamental biological discipline.A persisting gap in recruiting talented students to careers in science is among historically underrepresented minority groups. The number of underrepresented minorities in neuroscience is woefully small despite the ever growing numbers of these populations in the US. A number of studies suggest that the solution to the problem is to engage and nurture these students through early inclusion in research projects coupled with academic and social support and professional development. Exposure to effective role models, i.e. members of underrepresented minorities who have achieved a measure of success, is warranted as it allows students to see themselves in similar roles.The overarching goal of the University of Minnesota Minority Undergraduate Summer Research Program is to establish a rigorous program to recruit, nurture, and mentor promising undergraduate science majors from traditionally underrepresented populations to professional careers in research in behavioral neuroendocrinology. The plan for this 10-week course is to 1) recruit these students to a career in science early in their undergraduate career by providing them with a significant research experience, 2) expose these students to the field of biological sciences at large through a capstone poster presentation with students in other research areas, and 3) retain these students in the field, through professional development and ongoing mentored support.