Mentoring Young Minds to Increase Diversity in Biomedical Research

描述（由申请人提供）：与其他族裔相比，生物医学科学专业的少数族裔（URM）教师人数极低。随着URM研究生和博士后人数的增加，这种情况可能会得到扭转。这项申请的总体目标是响应最大限度提高学生多样性的倡议（IMSD），引导本科生进入生物医学科学的博士课程。URM的学者将在他们本科学习的早期就参与动手实验研究，首先作为暑期项目的一部分，在那里他们将被介绍基本的实验室技术和科学思维。这个最初的计划可能会增加URM理科学生的保留率（具体目标1）。暑期课程结束后，这些学生将加入知名研究人员的实验室，作为他们的导师。这些导师将进一步培养和激励学者攻读博士学位。参与者将被协助申请各种博士课程（具体目标2）。达到最低要求的学者（GPA为3.0或以上，完成研究生课程，成绩为B或更高，并得到学生导师的强烈推荐）将保证进入加州大学圣地亚哥分校（UCSD）的生物医学科学（BMS）博士课程，在那里他们将获得两年的支持，并帮助获得独立资金来完成博士学位。此外，这些学生将被教育如何制定在博士后培训后获得教师职位的策略（具体目标3）。由于教育工作者是极具影响力的榜样，对学习经验负有直接责任，因此需要一个广泛的种族教师库，以保证未来美国科学家全面发展所需的丰富意见和经验。与其他族裔群体相比，生物医学科学领域代表性不足的少数族裔教员的数量极低。这种情况可以随着URM生物医学博士生人数的增加而扭转，这是本申请的总体目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The number of underrepresented minority (URM) faculty in biomedical sciences is extremely low in comparison with other ethnic groups. This situation could be reversed with an increase in the population of URM graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The overall objective of this application, in response to the Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD), is to channel undergraduate students into Ph.D. programs in the biomedical sciences. URM scholars will be engaged very early on in their undergraduate studies in hands-on bench research, first as part of a summer program, where they will be introduced to basic laboratory techniques and scientific thinking. This initial program is likely to increase the retention of URM students in the field of science (specific aim 1). After the summer program, these students will join the laboratories of well- established investigators who will serve as their mentors. These mentors will further train and motivate the scholars to pursue Ph.D. degrees. Participants will be assisted in their applications to various Ph.D. programs (specific aim 2). Scholars that achieve a minimum of requirements (a GPA of 3.0 or above, completion of a graduate course with a grade of B or better, and a strong recommendation from the student's mentor) will have guaranteed admission into the Biomedical Science (BMS) Ph.D. program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) where they will be supported for two years and aided in obtaining independent funding to complete their Ph.D. degrees. Moreover, these students will be educated on how to develop a strategy for obtaining faculty positions after postdoctoral training (specific aim 3). Since educators are highly influential role models and directly responsible for the learning experience, a wide ethnic pool of teachers is needed to guarantee the wealth in opinion and experience required for the desired well-rounded development of future American scientists. The number of underrepresented minority (URM) faculty in biomedical sciences is extremely low in comparison with other ethnic groups. This situation could be reversed with an increase in the population of URM Ph.D. students in biomedical sciences, which is the overall objective of this application.