RECRUITMENT OF UNDERGRADUATES FOR MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH

本申请(以及对名为“精神健康教育补助金”的项目公告的回应)请求为R-25项目“心理健康研究本科生的招聘”提供竞争性的延续支持，该项目作为试点项目获得了三年的初始NIMH资助，并已持续第四年，并获得了免费行政延期。该项目是匹兹堡大学和卡内基梅隆大学精神病学系与神经科学、生物科学、心理学和化学系的合作成果。它为有才华的本科理科专业学生提供为期12个月的密集研究教育经验，他们寻求学士学位后的培训，为心理健康相关研究的职业生涯做准备。最终目标是找出在科学方面有天赋的学生，并招募他们从事心理健康研究。这一独特的本科生研究教育计划包括在临床或基础科学实验室进行为期一整年的实践研究，对与精神健康或精神障碍直接相关的科学问题进行监督研究；以临床神经科学和精神病学课程为特色的教学教育计划；以及在西方精神病学研究所和诊所(WPIC)为期十周的暑期计划，提供精神病学临床护理、临床研究讲座以及参观临床实验室和设施。该项目是NIMH继续努力促进临床和基础科学研究人员之间积极合作的一个及时例子，在这种情况下，是在本科理科学生的教育方面。它利用了相关机构的非凡优势，以及它们在教育和研究项目上过去和持续成功的跨学科合作。这一计划的试点阶段证明了在寻找和招收有才华的本科生进入心理健康研究教育计划方面的可行性和有效性，以及高级临床研究人员对本科生教育的热情参与。我们建议在未来五年继续这一计划，扩大招聘工作：增加受训学生的数量和多样性，进一步开发和完善课程，并继续评估该计划的短期和长期成果--根据受训人员完成他们的研究项目、成功发表研究结果以及他们随后的职业决定和选择--在他们大学毕业后五年的年度跟踪评估中

This application (and response to the Program Announcement, entitled "Mental Health Education Grants") requests competing continuation support for the R-25 program, "Recruitment of Undergraduates for Mental Health Research" that received three years of initial NIMH funding as a pilot project and has been continued for a fourth year with a no-cost administrative extension. This program is a collaborative effort between the Department of Psychiatry and the Departments of Neuroscience, Biological Sciences, Psychology and Chemistry of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. It provides a 12-month intensive research education experience to talented undergraduate science majors who seek post-baccalaureate training in preparation for careers in mental health-relevant research. The ultimate goal is to identify exceptionally talented students who have an aptitude in the sciences and recruit them to careers in mental health research. This unique undergraduate research education program consists of a practical research experience in a clinical or basic science laboratory for one full year, conducting supervised research on a scientific question with direct relevance to mental health or mental disorders; a didactic educational program featuring courses in clinical neuroscience and psychiatry; and a ten-week summer program at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) that provides exposure to clinical care in psychiatry, lectures in clinical research, and visits to a clinical labs and facilities. The program represents a timely example of the NIMH's continuing effort to promote active collaboration between clinical and basic science researchers, in this case in the education of undergraduate science students. It capitalizes on the extraordinary strengths of the institutions involved and their past and continuing successful inter-disciplinary collaboration on educational and research programs. The pilot stage of this program offers evidence of feasibility and effectiveness in identifying and recruiting talented undergraduate students into a mental health research education program, as well as the enthusiastic participation of senior clinical researchers in the education of undergraduate students. We propose to continue this program with an expanded recruitment effort over the next five years to: increase the number and diversity of students trained, further develop and refine the curriculum, and continue to evaluate short- and longer-term outcomes of the program--in terms of trainees' completion of their research projects, successful publication of research findings, and their subsequent career decisions and choices--at annual follow-up evaluations over a period of five years following their university graduation