Advancing aging research through development of minority gerontologists

描述（由申请人提供）：在霍华德大学（HUADAR）建立推进老龄化研究多样性（ADAR）项目的目标是在本科阶段早期从MSTEM学科中识别一批聪明的少数民族学生，然后通过广泛的指导和培训，为他们成功竞争研究生学习和其他专业职业做好准备。通过让这些少数族裔研究人员在职业生涯的早期熟悉衰老研究，他们可以对建立老年病学和老年学的职业生涯产生直接的兴趣。开发HUADAR项目的理由是相当合理的，一个多世纪以来，霍华德大学一直致力于培养代表性不足的少数民族学生。霍华德大学97%的学生是非裔美国人，美国国家科学基金会（NSF）最近的排名显示，霍华德大学是培养学士学位获得者最多的大学，这些学士学位获得者随后在全国顶级研究型大学获得科学和工程博士学位。此外，通过积极的招聘努力，霍华德大学成功招募了几位在MSTEM领域的教职员工，他们在老龄化和年龄相关疾病的各个方面保持着积极的研究项目。因此，霍华德大学拥有理想的环境，可以在他们的本科阶段早期发现有才华的少数民族科学家骨干，并且它有必要的资源，通过指导为他们提供基础知识和研究技能，使这些学生在老年学的跨学科领域脱颖而出。HUADAR项目的学员组成将100%包括少数族裔。大约有7000名本科生在霍华德大学29个本科系和项目中注册，大约97%的在校生是非洲裔美国人，67%是女性。此外，20%（或1400人）主修生物、化学、物理、数学、工程和相关健康，超过80%的人将医学作为他们的职业目标。我们计划每年招收5名来自MSTEM学科的学生，在他们大一结束的时候选择他们，采用的招聘策略包括：a)确定表现优异的学生

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of establishing the Advancing Diversity in Aging Research (ADAR) program at Howard University (HUADAR) is to identify a group of bright minority students from MSTEM disciplines early during their undergraduate years and then through extensive mentoring and training prepare them to successfully compete for graduate studies and other professional careers. By making them familiar with aging research early in their career, this cadre of minority researchers could be made squarely interested about building a career on geriatrics and gerontology. The Rationales for developing an HUADAR program is quite justifiable, for more than a century Howard University is engaged in training underrepresented minority students. About 97% of Howard's mentees are African Americans and National Science Foundation's (NSF) recent ranking put Howard University as the top producer of bachelor's degree recipients who subsequently earned science and engineering doctoral degrees nationally from top-tier research universities. Moreover, with an aggressive recruitment effort, Howard University successfully recruited several faculty members in MSTEM areas who are maintaining an active research programs on various aspects of aging and age related disorders. Therefore, Howard University has the ideal environment to identify a cadre of talented minority scientists early during their undergraduate years and it has the required resources to provide them with a foundation of knowledge and research skills through mentoring so that these students will excel in the interdisciplinary field of gerontology. Trainee compositio for HUADAR program will include 100% underrepresented minorities. Approximately 7,000 undergraduate students enroll at Howard in 29 undergraduate departments and programs, approximately 97% of enrollees are African American and 67% are women. Furthermore, 20% (or 1,400) major in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Engineering and Allied Health with greater than 80% declaring medicine as their career goal. We plan to recruit five students from MSTEM disciplines each year by selecting them early at the end of their freshman year using a recruitment strategy which includes: a) identification of strong performing students in the introductory courses, b) students enrolled in the Honors Program, c) recommendations by faculty members, and d) students responding to advertisements, announcements, and oral presentations. Proposed training is a comprehensive research education plan designed for HUADAR trainees which consists of following components: (1) develop two new courses on aging, (2) exposure to aging research in various laboratories at Howard during sophomore and junior years, (3) attending research seminars by prominent gerontologists, (4) a summer research apprenticeship opportunity outside Howard University in leading research institutes on aging like NIA Baltimore, UT Health Sciences Center, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown University Medical Centers, University of Maryland and University of Washington, (5) writing a honors thesis/senior thesis during senior year, (6) provide one on one mentoring to build a successful career path. Thus, from their sophomore year up to the senior year we have a carefully laid out plans to educate the HUADAR trainees on different aspects of aging research including the social aspects of aging. All students and personnel will be required to participate in instruction on the Responsible Conduct of Research. Evaluation plan for HUADAR will consist of course evaluations, student performances, faculty efficacy surveys, summer research experience surveys, successful completion of an honors thesis/senior thesis. The long-term goal of HUADAR program is to prepare minority students as future researchers through scientific training and educational experiences and we will encourage them to seek aging research as a career goal. Thus we will embrace the goal of NIA ADAR initiative to "fill a gap in the pipeline transitioning from undergraduate to graduate education in aging as it relates to medicine, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to fulfill the objectives of the NIA Health Disparities Strategic Plan".