Strides Toward Encouraging Professions In Science

描述(由申请者提供)：迈向鼓励科学职业(STEPS)是由丹佛社区学院(CCD)、奥罗拉社区学院(CCA)和丹佛大都会州立学院(MSCD)在科罗拉多大学健康科学中心研究生院(UCHSC)的帮助下共同努力的成果。STEPS计划的目标是1)增加社区大学生的数量，这些学生来自生物医学研究中历史上代表性不足的少数族裔(URM)，他们申报的专业可能会导致生物医学研究的职业生涯。2)增加URM社区大学生的数量，他们完成AS学位并转到4年制大学，最好是MSCD。3)增加URM学院完成学士学位并继续攻读研究生学位的学生数量，最好是在UCHSC。虽然第三个目标并没有得到NIH桥到文凭项目的严格支持，但它肯定是桥到未来计划的最终目标，并且一直在我们的项目工作人员的脑海中。STEPS计划的学生主要通过辅导获得学业上的支持，同时参加旨在向他们介绍生物医学研究社区文化的课外充实活动。学生们参加一个名为“期刊俱乐部”的科学素养研讨会，在那里他们学习阅读和讨论初级文学。学生必须参加生物医学研究导论研讨会，以掌握在实习中对他们有用的各种技能。根据每个学生的兴趣和能力，他们要么被安排在UCHSC的研究小组中，要么与Aurora或Lowry校区的MSCD、CCD或CCA教授一起进行160至320小时的实习。参加科学会议的学生在参加该项目的早期支持旅行，这同样是为了让他们习惯研究科学家的文化，也是为了让他们以后有机会以海报演示的形式分享他们在实习期间所做的研究。Steps校友在他们所工作的研究实验室做出了重大贡献，未来的学生也将做出同样的贡献，希望一些人将来能在自己的研究小组中做出自己的贡献。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Strides Toward Encouraging Professions in Science (STEPS) is a collaborative effort by Community College of Denver (CCD), Community College of Aurora (CCA) and Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD) with assistance from the Graduate School of the University of Colorado Health Science Center (UCHSC). The goals of the STEPS program are 1) to increase the number of community college students, from historically under-represented minorities (URM) in biomedical research, who declare majors that are likely to lead to careers in biomedical research 2) to increase the number of URM community college students, who complete the AS degree and transfer to a 4 yr college, preferably MSCD. 3) to increase the number of URM college students who complete the BS degree and go on to pursue a graduate degree, preferably at UCHSC. While this third goal is not strictly supported by the NIH Bridges to the Baccalaureate program, it is certainly the ultimately goal of the Bridges to the Future Initiatives and always in the minds of our program staff. Students in the STEPS program are supported academically primarily through tutoring, while being exposed to extracurricular enrichment activities designed to introduce them to the culture of the biomedical research community. The students participate in a scientific literacy seminar aka "The Journal Club" where they learn to read and discuss primary literature. The students must participate in the Introduction to Biomedical Research Seminar to master a variety of skills that will be useful to them in their internships. Depending on each student's interest and ability, they will either be placed with a research group at UCHSC or will work with a MSCD, CCD or CCA professor on the Aurora or Lowry campus for a 160 to 320 hr internship. Travel to scientific conferences is supported both for students early in their participation in the program, again so they may become accustomed to the culture of research scientists, and later so that they may have the experience of sharing the research they have done during their internship in the form of a poster presentation. STEPS alumni have made significant contributions in the research labs they've worked and future students will do the same, hopefully some will make contributions of their own in the future in their own research groups.