THE UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO AT CAYEY METAS+ : Maintaining, Engaging, and Tracking Alumni in Science and Health Research

尽管在生物医学劳动力多样化方面取得了重大进展，但授予博士学位的比例 拉美裔仍占7%，注册博士课程的人中只有48%完成了学位。该项目 METAS+(维护、吸引和跟踪科学和健康研究方面的校友；也是Goals+in 西班牙语)寻求通过测试，利用精心设计的科学方法，使生物医学劳动力多样化 能够使拉丁裔本科生成功过渡到生物医学的培训干预措施的有效性 研究生课程。波多黎各大学凯伊分校(UPR-C)是解决这一问题的理想选择 挑战，因为它的学生人口是100%的拉丁裔。大约300名UPR-C学生参与了 UGR每年一次，大多数人寻求在STEM或生物医学领域攻读研究生课程。METAS+寻求测试 1)在UPR-C提供的先前指导的UGR经验的有效性和2)关于 校园和在线团体辅导干预，被认为是对这种UGR的强化 经历。结果将在学生进入理科的三个阶段进行评估： 毕业，2)注册生物医学研究生课程，3)研究生院第一年； 以前没有这样做过。为了在分析中实现稳健性，我们将使用倾向分数匹配，这是一种统计 通过识别和匹配来模拟自我选择偏向的实验方法和控制的方法 社会人口学和学术特征相似的拉丁裔，只是治疗变量不同 (UGR)。为了测试新教练强化的效果，我们将使用一个实验设计，通过 随机将80名学生分为对照组(无干预)和实验组(辅导)。在……里面 从长远来看，该项目预计将揭示基于证据的可持续干预措施的好处，这些干预措施 可以在少数群体服务机构撒下广泛的参与者网，真正使科学劳动力多样化。

Despite significant advances to diversify the biomedical workforce, the proportion of Ph.D. degrees awarded to Latinos is still 7% and only 48% of those who enroll in a doctorate program complete their degree. The project METAS+ (Maintaining, Engaging, and Tracking Alumni in Science and Health Research; also GOALS+ in Spanish) seeks to diversify the biomedical workforce by testing, with well-designed scientific approaches, the efficacy of training interventions that can equip Latino undergraduates to successfully transition to biomedical graduate programs. The University of Puerto Rico at Cayey (UPR-C) is ideally positioned to address this challenge because its student population is 100% Latino. Approximately 300 UPR-C students engaged in UGR yearly and most seek to pursue graduate studies in STEM or biomedical areas. METAS+ seeks to test the effectiveness of 1) previous mentored UGR experiences provided at UPR-C and 2) an innovative on campus and on-line group coaching intervention that is envisioned as a reinforcement to such UGR experiences. Results will be assessed at three stages of a student’s pathway into science: 1) college graduation, 2) enrollment in a biomedical graduate program and 3) the first year of graduate school; something not done previously. To achieve robustness in the analysis, we will use Propensity Score Matching, a statistical method that mimics experimental approaches and controls for self-selection-bias by identifying and matching Latinos with similar socio-demographic and academic characteristics who only differ in the treatment variable (UGR). To test the efficacy of the new coaching reinforcement, we will use an experimental design by randomly assigning 80 students to a control group (no intervention) and an experimental group (coaching). In the long-term, the project is expected to reveal the benefit of evidenced-based sustainable interventions that can cast a broad net of participants at Minority Serving Institutions to truly diversify the scientific workforce.