MBRS RISE Program Plan: Salish Kootenai College

描述（由申请人提供）：Salish Kootenai学院（SKC）是蒙大拿州西部平头印第安人保留地的一所4年制部落学院。SKC为1,000多名学生提供学士学位，副学士学位和证书课程，其中超过75%来自美洲原住民和其他少数民族。SKC的生物科学，生物行为和健康相关的项目正在增长，但仍然很小，缺乏足够的学生研究机会，学生接触专业研究环境和培训，以及高级课程工作，以支持希望在生物科学或生物技术职业中攻读高级学位的学生。改善科学课程设置，为学生提供本科研究机会，扩大和更好地装备实验室设施，并让学生接触到各种专业研究环境，不仅会吸引新的学生到SKC的科学学位课程，但也将促进更成功的结果对于那些正在考虑研究生学习或未来职业的学生在生物医学或健康相关的研究。 该提案的目的是利用NIH-NIGMS MBRS-RISE资助机制，通过实现以下四个具体的可衡量目标，补充SKC学院驱动的生物科学，生物行为和健康相关的研究计划。具体目标1：为学生在生物医学，生物行为和健康相关的研究项目的研究活动提供支持机制。具体目标2：为学生提供专业的科学环境，包括会议，研讨会和生物医学相关学科的专业培训。具体目标3：促进与活跃的研究机构和SKC内经验丰富的科学家的专业合作，这将导致SKC学生在校内和校外暑期实习，并将提供进入研究生学位课程的关键联系。具体目标4：将上述RISE目标与持续的科学计划发展相结合，从而在SKC的生物科学，教师增强和学士学位水平科学学位课程中实现“无缝”转移计划。 鉴于SKC学生人口的组成，该RISE项目计划的实施将导致科学领域少数族裔学生入学人数的增加。通过科学学位课程的成功进展将通过为学生提供接触到各种生物科学和健康相关的研究环境，为学生提供“动手”培训的机会，并与其他研究机构的经验丰富的科学家开展教师发起的研究合作，这将反过来，让SKC学生的关键接触往往是必要的，进入并在主要学院和大学的研究为基础的研究生学习成功。 SKC已经为其MBRS活动制定了具体的数字目标，并将组织一个外部咨询委员会来评估学院在MBRS资助期间的进展。通过装备一个多用户生物科学实验室和实施本文提出的RISE计划，MBRS的目标是增加少数民族参与生物科学，生物行为和健康相关的研究将在萨利希库特奈学院实现。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Salish Kootenai College (SKC) is a 4-year tribal college on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. SKC offers bachelor's degrees, associate's degrees, and certificate programs to over 1,000 students, of which greater than 75% are from Native American and other minority groups. SKC's bioscience, bio-behavioral, and health-related programs are growing but continue to be small and lacking in adequate student research opportunities, student exposure to professional research environments and training, and advanced course work that would support students who wish to pursue advanced degrees in the biosciences or careers in biotechnology. Improving science curriculum offerings, providing undergraduate research opportunities for students, expanding and better equipping laboratory facilities, and exposing students to a variety of professional research environments will not only attract new students to SKC's science degree programs but will also foster more successful outcomes for those current students who are considering graduate studies or future careers in biomedical or health-related research. The purpose of this proposal is to use the NIH-NIGMS MBRS-RISE grant mechanism to complement faculty-driven bioscience, bio-behavioral, and health-related research initiatives at SKC by accomplishing the following four specific measurable objectives. Specific aim 1: Provide mechanisms of support for student research activities in biomedical, bio-behavioral, and health-related research projects. Specific aim 2: Offer students exposure to professional scientific environments, including conferences, workshops, and specialized training in biomedically related disciplines. Specific aim 3: Foster professional collaborations with experienced scientists at active research institutions and within SKC that will lead to SKC student placement in on-campus and off-campus summer internships and that will provide critical contacts for entering graduate degree programs. Specific aim 4: Integrate the above-listed RISE objectives with continued science program development leading to "seamless" transfer programs in the biosciences, faculty enhancement, and baccalaureate level science degree programs at SKC. Given the composition of SKC's student population, implementation of this RISE program plan will result in increased minority student enrollment in the sciences. Successful progress through science degree programs will be enhanced by providing students with exposure to a variety of bioscience and health-related research environments, offering students opportunities for "hands-on" training, and developing faculty-initiated research collaboration with experienced scientists at other research institutions, which will, in turn, allow SKC students the critical contacts often necessary to enter and be successful in research-based graduate studies at major colleges and universities. SKC has defined specific numerical goals for the course of its MBRS activities and will organize an external advisory committee to evaluate the college's progress during the MBRS funding period. By equipping a multi-user biosciences laboratory and implementing the herein proposed RISE plan, the MBRS goal of increasing minority participation in bioscience, bio-behavioral, and health-related research will be achieved at Salish Kootenai College.