Project ATTAIN: Increasing Participation of Xavier Students in the NIH Workforce

描述（由申请人提供）：本计划资助的目标是建立一个机构联盟，并与他们合作制定一项行动计划，以改变未被充分代表的少数民族学生，特别是非洲裔美国人，在与美国国立卫生研究院资助的研究相关的科学学科中招收和保留学士学位和博士学位的方式。作为培养非裔美国人博士的主要大学，路易斯安那州泽维尔大学在全美排名第一。在生命科学领域。如果制定的行动计划在2015年获得全额BUILD资助，它将在更大程度上增强Xavier建立更大、更多样化、训练有素的生物医学劳动力的能力。目前的联盟由泽维尔大学、杜兰大学和新奥尔良路易斯安那州立大学健康科学中心组成，但我们建议至少确定两个额外的合作机构，它们将参与NIH BUILD计划。我们的目标是利用我们的专业知识和创新策略，专注于(1)制定一项新的计划，以加强本科教育、培训和指导，以及教师发展，以促进这些方法；(2)在参与机构进行能力建设和基础设施需求评估，以合作制定新的战略和流程，以招募和留住BUILD学者，并提供创新的教育、指导和研究培训机会；(3)利用Xavier的独特地位和专业知识制定计划，这将对进入STEM研究培训管道并在研究生毕业后继续从事研究工作的少数民族科学家的数量产生可衡量的影响；(4)利用通过这一规划过程制定的行动计划作为Xavier全面申请NIH BUILD计划的基础。我们的方法建立在Xavier独特的专业知识和创新的策略上，用于修改课程和课程，强大的指导干预，以及大学与邻近研究密集型大学的丰富合作历史，作为解决促进nih资助的生物医学，行为，临床和社会科学劳动力多样性的独特和迫切需求的起点。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this planning grant is to develop a consortium of institutions and work with them to create an action plan that will transform the way underrepresented minority students, particularity African Americans, are recruited and retained at both the B.S. and Ph.D. levels in science disciplines relevant to NIH-funded research. Xavier University of Louisiana is ranked #1 in the nation as the primary undergraduate source of African American Ph.Ds. in the life sciences. If the action plans developed are funded through a full BUILD grant in 2015, it will enhance Xavier's ability to build a larger, more diverse highly-trained biomedical workforce to an even greater extent. The current consortium consists of Xavier, Tulane University, and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, but we propose to identify at least two additional partner institutions that will participate in th full NIH BUILD initiative. Our objectives are to use our expertise and innovative strategies to focus on (1) developing a novel plan for enhancing undergraduate education, training, and mentorship, as well as faculty development to facilitate these approaches; (2) conducting capacity-building and infrastructure needs assessments at participating institutions for the collaborative development of novel strategies and processes for recruiting and retaining BUILD scholars and providing innovative educational, mentorship, and research training opportunities, (3) using Xavier's unique position and expertise to develop plans that will result in a measurable impact on the number of minority scientists who are entering the STEM research training pipeline and going on to research careers after graduate school, and (4) using the action plans developed through this planning process as the basis for Xavier's full application to the NIH BUILD program. Our approach builds on Xavier's unique expertise and innovative strategies for revising courses and curricula, strong mentorship intervention, and the University's rich history of collaboration with neighboring research-intensive universities as a starting point for addressing the unique and compelling need to promote diversity in the NIH-funded biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences workforce.