Neuroscience Research Opportunities to Increase Diversity (NeuroID)

波多黎各大学里约皮德拉斯校区提出的题为《增加多样性的神经科学研究机会》的提案旨在增加本科生在神经科学领域的机会。这项建议借鉴了在两个供资期间收集的经验，以改进和加强对人数不足的少数族裔学生的指导和培训活动，使他们在研究生院及以后的学习中具有竞争力。NeuroID利用UPR调查人员强大的神经科学专业知识，加强了连接本科生、岛屿调查人员和他们的合作者的基础神经科学网络。此次续签还将该计划的影响扩大到大都市地区五所以本科为主的私立院校的学生。NeuroID计划的主要目标是通过建立一个感兴趣的学生队列来增加神经科学的多样性，这些学生将接受神经科学相关研究的学术和专业培训。该计划将惠及超过95%的不同性别、种族、社会地位和身体需求的拉美裔学生。该计划的核心是为本科生提供全面的研究体验和一系列活动，以加强学生作为神经科学家的认同感。培训方案由三个主要部分组成：(1)研究体验--学年期间的紧张研究体验和两个夏季研究体验：一个在普遍定期审议，另一个在美国大陆一家机构的实验室，这些机构在神经科学方面拥有活跃的T32培训补助金和/或在招募和培训代表不足的少数群体方面有良好的记录。(2)学术培训--以积极的学习活动、研讨会、工作坊和精选课程为基础的学术计划，以增强他们在神经生物学、数量生物学方面的知识和对研究事业的了解。(3)学生发展活动-参与者将参加一个辅导计划，包括社区外展活动、科学写作、口头陈述和职业咨询，以提高他们的专业能力。拟议的活动将有助于提高学生的竞争力，并增强他们继续神经科学研究生涯的兴趣。NeuroID项目将扩大波多黎各大学其他成功项目的影响，不仅专注于神经科学领域，还将该项目极大地扩大到圣胡安大都市区以本科为主的机构的学生，这增加了可用的申请者池，并提供了一个包容性和更广泛的培训项目。

This proposal entitled Neuroscience Research Opportunities to Increase Diversity (NeuroID) from the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Rio Piedras Campus aims to increase the opportunities available for undergraduate students in the area of Neurosciences. This proposal builds upon the experiences gathered during two funding period to enhance and strengthen the mentoring and training activities of Underrepresented Minority students to make them competitive for graduate school and beyond. NeuroID takes advantage of the strong Neuroscience expertise among UPR investigators and fortifies the underlying neuroscience network that joins undergraduate students, island investigators and their collaborators. This renewal also expands the impact of the program to students from five mainly undergraduate private institutions in the metropolitan area. The main goal of the NeuroID program is to increase diversity in the neurosciences by establishing a cohort of interested students that will receive academic and professional training in neuroscience-related research. The program will benefit a student population over 95% Hispanics of different gender, race, social status and physical needs. The core of the program is a comprehensive research experience for undergraduate students and a series of activities that reinforce student’s identity as neuroscientists. The training program consists of three major components: (1) Research Experience - An intense research experience during the academic year and two research summer experiences: one at the UPR and the other in a laboratory at an institution in the mainland USA that have active T32 training grants in neuroscience and/or excellent track record in recruiting and training underrepresented minorities. (2) Academic training – an academic program based on active learning activities, seminars, workshops and selected courses to enhance their knowledge in neurobiology, quantitative biology and understanding of a research career. (3) Student development activities - Participants will enter a mentoring program that includes community outreach activities, writing in science, oral presentations and career counseling to enhance their professional capabilities. The proposed activities will serve to increase the student competitiveness and enhance their interest in continuing a research career in neuroscience. The NeuroID program will extend the impact of other successful programs at the University of Puerto Rico, not only by focusing on the neuroscience field but also by greatly expanding the program to students from primarily-undergraduate institutions in the San Juan metropolitan areas, which increases the pool of available applicants as well as providing an inclusive and broader training program.