NIA MSTEM: Advancing Diversity in Aging Research through Undergraduate Education at the University of the District of Columbia

项目总结/摘要 通过我们的NIA MSTEM项目（通过本科生推进老龄化研究的多样性 教育在哥伦比亚特区的大学），我们寻求创造和促进老龄化相关的研究 和课程的经验，为代表性不足的少数民族（URM）的学生在大学区的 哥伦比亚（UDC），一所历史悠久的黑人学院和大学（HBCU）。具有重大社会意义的是， 长期目标是增加URM专业人员的数量，旨在通过以下方式解决与老龄化有关的问题 研究调查（研究）和干预（设计和设备）。据预测， 到2025年，全球50岁以上的人口将增加到12亿，然而， 研究培训在本科阶段刚刚起步，多样性有限。 该项目的目标是创造和培养与老龄化有关的：1）研究经验（与福尔斯有关， 成像和数据分析）; 2）与大一和大四设计相关的新的和独特的课程体验 项目、实习和研讨会，以及专业学生俱乐部活动;以及3）通过 指导，传播和推广的URM本科生人口在UDC。我们 中心假设是，通过上述目标，我们将培养出一批多样化的专业人员， 有能力解决老龄化问题。这个项目是独特的，但很好地与，以前和 UDC目前赞助的研究活动集中在大学生年龄相关（平衡）研究 生物医学工程（BME）教育。 该项目的贡献非常重要，因为它将带来与衰老相关的新科学发现 与平衡和福尔斯、成像和分析相关的研究，以及增加训练有素的URM的数量 大学生被与衰老相关的研究所吸引。研究经验，通常只有 在研究生阶段的学生，将提供给UDC的URM本科生。拟建项目 创新之处在于，它将利用UDC仅是全国3个HBCU中的1个，在BME中拥有BS 学位课程，更重要的是，UDC是唯一的HBCU，目前促进BME为重点的老龄化 research.此外，该项目将为URM本科生提供一个与老龄化相关的无与伦比的生态系统 研究，课程和专业发展交织在一起的一个独特的，有意义的网络： UDC以BME为重点的人员，老龄化和社区生活部（DACL）， 社区网站在所有8个区的华盛顿，DC和UDC老年学研究所（IOG）。此外，本发明还 该项目可能会对少数民族服务机构和非少数民族服务机构产生影响，并成为它们的典范 在全国范围内寻求建立与老龄化相关的本科研究和教育基础设施。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Through our NIA MSTEM Project (Advancing Diversity in Aging Research through Undergraduate Education at the University of the District of Columbia) we seek to create and foster aging-related research and curricular experiences for underrepresented minority (URM) students at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), a historically black college and university (HBCU). Of significant societal relevance, is our long-term goal to increase the number of URM professionals aimed at solving problems tied to aging via research investigations (studies) and interventions (designs and devices). It is projected that the number of individuals older than 50 years of age will increase to 1.2 billion by 2025 worldwide, however, aging-related research training is nascent at the undergraduate levels & diversity is limited. The objectives of this project are to create and foster aging-related: 1) research experiences (tied to falls, imaging, and data analytics); 2) new and unique curricular experiences tied to freshman and senior design projects, practicum & seminars, and professional student club activities; and 3) professional development via mentorship, dissemination and outreach for the URM undergraduate student demographic at UDC. Our central hypothesis is that through the above objectives we will produce a diverse cadre of professionals that are well-equipped to solve issues tied to aging. This project is distinct, yet dovetails nicely with, previous and current sponsored research activities at UDC focused on undergraduate aging-related (balance) research and Biomedical Engineering (BME) education. The project’s contribution is significant in that it will lead to new scientific findings on aging-related research tied to balance & falls, imaging, and analytics, as well as increase the number of trained URM undergraduate students captivated by aging-related research. Research experiences, typically only available to students at the graduate level, will be provided to URM undergraduates at UDC. The proposed project is innovative in that it will capitalize on the fact that UDC is only 1 of 3 HBCUs nationwide with a BS in BME degree program and, more importantly, UDC is the only HBCU which currently fosters BME-focused aging research. Further, the project will provide URM undergraduates an unparalleled ecosystem in aging-related research, curricula, and professional development which interweaves a unique, meaningful network of the: UDC BME-focused personnel, the Department on Aging and Community Living (DACL) which has community sites across all 8 wards of Washington, DC, and the UDC Institute of Gerontology (IOG). Further, this project may have an impact on and serve as a model for minority-serving institutes (MSIs) and non-MSIs nationwide seeking to create their undergraduate aging-related research and education infrastructure.