A Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Neuroscience at an HBCU

HBCU的神经科学夏季本科生研究计划-这项建议是为了续订我们的R25助学金，支持神经科学的夏季本科生研究计划。我们本科生研究项目的组织中心是特拉华州神经科学研究中心，这是一个跨学科、跨机构的虚拟中心，目前已进入第八个年头，得到了NIGMS生物医学研究卓越中心(Cobre)的资助。在特拉华州立大学(DSU)，12名外部资助的教职员工研究员隶属于特拉华州神经科学研究中心，特拉华大学(UD)的另外14名附属教职员工参加了该中心主办的会议、务虚会、座谈会和专业发展研讨会。我们暑期本科生神经科学研究项目(SUN-R)的本科生研究人员是神经科学研究中心的一部分，他们与附属教师一起开展研究项目，并参与中心的活动和职业发展机会。我们的项目目标是来自密歇根州立大学和其他附近学院和大学的学生，这些学院和大学服务于大量少数民族人口。这将使我们能够招收不同的学生群体，并在为期10周的暑期计划结束后，将他们作为支持性的、专注于研究的社区的一部分。作为一所历史悠久的黑人大学，密歇根州立大学几乎80%的本科生是代表不足的群体的成员，大约65%的本科生是非洲裔美国人，密歇根州立大学处于有利地位，可以为代表不足的学生提供支持环境。我们的合作学校包括：卫斯理学院，这是一所文科学院，距离路易斯安那州立大学只有3英里，本科生中约50%是少数族裔；特拉华技术与社区学院(DTCC)，其招生人数中36%来自代表不足的群体；威德纳大学位于宾夕法尼亚州切斯特市，距离特拉华州州界仅有25%。专注于在我们这个小州和附近的机构就读的学生，使我们能够在暑期项目结束后，让我们的SUN-R学者参与我们的神经科学中心。我们计划的学生与特拉华州神经科学研究中心的教职员工一起参加为期10周的暑期研究体验，他们参与每周一次的专业发展课程和两周一次的“像科学家一样思考”课程，旨在培养学生的科学素养和解决问题和阅读科学文章的技能。暑期计划结束后，许多学生参加了神经科学中心主办的研讨会、务虚会、座谈会和整个暑期和下一学年的职业发展机会。在我们计划的头四年里，我们56名参与者中超过66%的人是STEM代表性不足的团体的成员。在完成我们暑期课程的54名学生中，30名毕业于理学士学位，9名继续攻读STEM硕士或博士学位，23名仍在攻读STEM理科学士学位。我们的项目将高质量的研究经验与参与以神经科学为重点的社区和技能培养活动相结合，帮助参与者建立了准备和热情，使他们能够毕业于STEM学士学位，并在与生物医学和行为研究相关的领域攻读博士学位。五年的续签将使我们能够继续取得这一成功。

A Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Neuroscience at an HBCU - This proposal is for a renewal of our R25 grant supporting a summer undergraduate research program in neuroscience. The organizing center of our undergraduate research program is the Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research, an interdisciplinary, inter- institutional, virtual Center now in its 8th year of support from a Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant from NIGMS. At Delaware State University (DSU), 12 externally funded faculty investigators are affiliated with Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research, and another 14 affiliated faculty at the University of Delaware (UD) take part in Center-sponsored meetings, retreats, symposia and professional development workshops. The undergraduate researchers in our Summer Undergraduate Neuroscience Research Program (SUN-R) program is part of the Center for Neuroscience Research, carrying out research projects with affiliated faculty and participating in Center activities and professional development opportunities. Our project targets students from DSU and other nearby colleges and universities that serve large minority populations. This will allow us to recruit a diverse group of students and maintain them as part of a supportive, research- focused community beyond the length of the 10-week summer program. As an Historically Black University in which almost 80% of undergraduates are members of under-represented groups and about 65% are African-American, DSU is well-positioned to provide a supportive environment for under-represented students. Our partner schools include: Wesley College, a liberal arts college just 3 miles from DSU which has an undergraduate enrollment that is approximately 50% minority; the Delaware Technical and Community College (DTCC), which has an enrollment in which 36% of the students are from underrepresented groups; and Widener University in just over the state line from Delaware in Chester, Pennsylvania with about 25% underrepresented students. Focusing on students attending institutions within our small state and nearby allows us to keep our SUN-R scholars involved in our Neuroscience Center after the end of the summer program. Students in our program participate in a 10-week summer research experience working with faculty members affiliated with the Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research, they are engaged in weekly professional development sessions and biweekly “Think Like a Scientist” sessions designed to develop students’ scientific literacy and skills at problems solving and reading scientific articles. After the summer program many students participate in Neuroscience Center-sponsored seminars, retreats, symposia and professional development opportunities through the summer and the following academic year. In the first four years of our program over 66% of our 56 participants were members of groups under- represented in STEM. Of the 54 students who completed our summer program, 30 have graduated with a BS degree, 9 have gone on to MS or PhD programs in STEM, and 23 are still pursuing STEM BS degrees. Our program combining a high quality research experience with participation in a neuroscience-focused community and skill-building activities has helped to build participants’ preparation and enthusiasm for graduating with a STEM BS degree and pursuing a PhD in areas related to biomedical and behavioral research. A five-year renewal will allow us to continue that success.