Winston-Salem State University Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement

 描述(由申请者提供)：温斯顿-塞勒姆州立大学(WSSU)提出了一项MBRS Rise，以实施一个4阶段的计划，目标是未被充分代表(UR)的学生在生物医学/行为科学方面的职业暴露、学术提升、研究培训和专业发展。这一计划旨在最大限度地发挥机构影响力，所有入学的学生(新生和转学学生)都将被邀请参加相关学科的活动。此后，培训、发展和持续的自我和项目选择计划将增加WSSU相关系(89%的UR)的学生数量，这些学生保留在专业内，攻读理科研究生学位，并直接进入博士课程。这项应用侧重于开发学习社区，通过以下方式促进本科生的学术指导和研究培训：1)将一年级和二年级(低年级学生)的UR引入生物医学或行为研究，同时发展一个重视学术卓越和专业发展的支持性同行社区；2)培养合格和有动力的低年级/高年级(高年级学生)本科生的独立研究经验。我们计划的这一要素将进一步发展这些学生进入生物医学/行为科学广泛学科的竞争性博士项目所需的专业技能。重点将放在我们与研究密集型大学的关系上，这些大学拥有各种博士前T32课程，以便顺利过渡到研究生课程。该培训计划有20多名外部资助的培训教师导师，他们在十个不同的系、中心和两个机构(维克森林大学健康科学[WFUHS]和WSSU)的项目中担任主要学术职务，并将吸引来自WSSU艺术与科学学院三个系(生命科学、化学和行为科学)的学员。我们的目标是1)与本科一年级学生建立一个支持性的学习社区，以促进学术成功、职业探索和职业发展；2)通过注册一门高强度的实验室研究方法选修课，促进自选的二年级学生进行研究技能的正式培训；3)通过提供与基础科学和临床研究教师的接触，以及通过展示临床相关研究的兴奋和挑战的经验，通过参与有偿指导的研究活动，聘请具有竞争力的三年级学生(Rise Fellows)作为学习社区发挥作用；4)通过提供与生物和行为研究技术相关的调查和研究课程，加强本科生高级参与者的批判性思维能力，以增进对基础科学研究和研究生教育的理解。该项目将受益于WSSU和WFUHS的几位知名研究人员的持续合作，他们中的大多数人聚集在皮埃蒙特三合会研究园区的一栋共享的基础科学大楼里。设施、师资和其他资源的结合为对生物医学/行为科学感兴趣的本科生提供了一个丰富而充满活力的跨学科培训环境。该计划将由一个由内部和外部成员组成的咨询委员会指导，并由独立的计划评估者进行审查，以进行形成性和终结性评估，并确定该计划对选择获得博士学位的学生的具体影响。我们相信我们有能力实现这一结果，并期待这一项目的活动将作为WSSU生物医学或行为科学学科的其他学生的榜样。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) proposes an MBRS RISE to implement a 4-stage program that targets underrepresented (UR) students for career exposure, academic enhancement, research training and professional development in biomedical/behavioral sciences. This program is designed for maximal institutional impact in which all entering students (freshmen and transfer) in the RISE relevant disciplines will be invited to participate. Thereafter, a regimen of training, development and ongoing self and program selection will increase the number of WSSU students in the RISE relevant departments (89% UR) who are retained within majors, pursue graduate degrees in sciences, and gain admission directly into PhD programs. This application focuses on the development of learning communities that facilitate academic mentoring and research training of undergraduates by 1) introducing UR's at the freshman and sophomore (lower classmen) levels to biomedical or behavioral research, while developing a supportive peer community that values academic excellence and professional development; 2) fostering independent research experiences for qualified and motivated junior/senior (upper classman) undergraduates. This element of our program will further develop the professional skills necessary for these students to enter competitive PhD programs in the broad disciplines of biomedical/behavioral science. A particular emphasis will be placed on our relationships with research-intensive universities with various pre-doctoral T32 programs for a smooth transition into graduate programs. The training program has over 20 extramurally-funded training faculty mentors with primary academic appointments in ten different Departments, Centers and Programs within two institutions (Wake Forest University Health Sciences [WFUHS] and WSSU) and will draw trainees from three departments (life sciences, chemistry, and behavioral sciences) in the College of Arts and Sciences at WSSU. We aim to 1) build a supportive learning community with the undergraduate freshman class to foster academic success, career exploration and professional development; 2) facilitate formal training in research skills for a self-selected sophomore cohort through registration for an intense elective laboratory research methods course; 3) engage a competitively selected cohort of juniors (RISE Fellows) to function as a Learning Community through their participation in paid mentored research activities by providing exposure to research faculty in both basic science and clinical and through an experience that exemplifies the excitement and challenges of clinically relevant investigations; and 4) strengthen undergraduate senior participants' critical thinking skills by providing an Investigation and Research course associated with biological and behavioral research techniques to enhance the understanding of basic science research and graduate education. This program will benefit from the ongoing collaboration of several established investigators at WSSU and WFUHS, the majority of whom have assembled in a shared basic science building in the Piedmont Triad Research Park campus. The combination of facilities, faculty, and other resources provides a rich and vibrant interdisciplinary training environment for undergraduate students who are interested in biomedical/behavioral sciences. The program will be guided by an advisory committee consisting of both internal and external members and reviewed by an independent program evaluator for a formative and summative evaluation and to determine the specific impact of this program on students choosing to obtain a PhD. We are confident in our ability to achieve this outcome and anticipate that this program's activities will serve as a model for other students in biomedical or behavioral science disciplines at WSSU.