Diversity in Biomedical Sciences Via Personalized Research and Education Programs for Post-Baccalaureates

 说明(由申请人提供)：尽管总人口有所增加，但接受生物和物理科学研究生培训的人数仍然很少。生物医学硕士申请和录取生物医学研究生课程的主要障碍包括研究经验有限、生物科学高级课程有限、不熟悉申请过程、不了解博士的职业机会以及标准化考试(例如GRE)分数较低。哈佛大学文理研究生院认识到了这些问题，并意识到有必要增加自己的博士项目和教师以及整个领域的多样性，于是启动了一个正式的生命科学学士后试点项目，名为研究学者倡议。这项提案旨在通过建立学士学位后研究教育计划(预科学者计划)来扩大这一计划。该计划将为有兴趣攻读传统基于实验室的生物医学科学(称为生命科学)或非基于实验室的生物医学科学(称为人口健康科学)的博士/SCD的个人提供1-2年的研究和教育培训机会。目标是1)为10名学者/年提供个性化的研究教育和培训机会；2)至少90%完成至少一年的研究培训；3)至少75%申请并被顶尖博士(博士或SCD)或在某些情况下，生物医学的医学博士/博士课程录取。此外，我们希望通过为生命科学和人口健康科学的学员提供早期接触对方学科的机会，使他们能够更好地了解彼此领域的研究，并在未来的研究计划中播下跨学科合作的种子。目标将通过以下方式实现：1)预备学者与生命和人口健康科学的教员一起进行为期一年或可能两年的独立研究；2)开发一个个性化的计划，以加强学术准备(例如，定量方法、细胞生物学、计算机等)；3)为每个学者建立一个咨询委员会，以扩大他们的指导网络；4)让学者参与特定计划的课程和讲习班，旨在培养对研究生院成功至关重要的技能；5)让他们参与研究讨论，使预备学者接触人口健康和生命科学研究；6)通过在我们的项目和该领域的其他项目中提供与现有学生和教师互动的机会，让学者熟悉研究生培训环境。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The number of underrepresented minorities (URM) receiving graduate training in the biological and physical sciences continues to be small despite increases in the total population. Major obstacles for URMs applying to and being admitted to graduate programs in the biomedical sciences include limited research experience, limited advanced courses in the biological sciences, unfamiliarity with the application process, unawareness of career opportunities for PhD's, and lower scores on standardized tests (e.g., GRE's). Recognizing these issues and the need to increase the diversity of its own doctoral programs and faculty as well as the field as a whole, Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences initiated a formal post-baccalaureate pilot program in the life sciences called the Research Scholar Initiative. This proposal seeks to expand this program by establishing a Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP Scholars Program). The program will provide a 1-2 year research and educational training opportunity for individuals interested in pursuing PhD's/ScD's in either the traditional lab-based biomedical sciences (referred to as Life Sciences) or non-lab based biomedical sciences (referred to as Population Health Sciences). The goals are to 1) provide a personalized research education and training opportunity for 10 scholars/yr; 2) have at least 90% complete at least one year of research training; and 3) have a minimum of 75% apply to and be admitted to top doctoral (PhD or ScD) or in some cases, MD/PhD programs in the biomedical sciences. In addition, by providing early exposure of the trainees in the Life Sciences and Population Health Sciences to the disciplines of the other, we hope to enable them to better understand research in each other's areas and plant the seeds of interdisciplinary collaborations in their future research programs. Goals will be achieved by 1) PREP Scholars doing independent research with faculty in the Life and Population Health Sciences for one year and possibly two years; 2) developing a personalized program to enhance academic preparation (e.g., quantitative methods, cell biology, computing, etc.); 3) Establishing an advisory committee for each scholar to expand their mentoring network; 4) Having Scholars participate in program-specific courses and workshops designed to build skills critical for graduate school success; 5) Engaging them in research discussions that will expose PREP Scholars to Population Health and Life Sciences research; 6) Familiarize scholars with graduate training environment by providing opportunities to interact with current students and faculty in our program and other programs in the area.