RUUTEs: Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) for Minorities

项目总结 虽然少数群体、弱势群体和代表性不足的群体存在着重大的教育障碍，但它一直是 研究表明，针对这些人的本科生研究项目增加了研究生入学人数 计划和从事科学事业的个人数量。因此，发展本科 针对少数群体、弱势群体和代表不足的学生群体的研究计划将对提高 他们参加健康科学研究生课程和生物医学科学的职业生涯。全国范围内的团体 根据NIH的定义，代表不足的人包括种族和民族群体，但也包括来自 弱势背景(农村、低收入或医疗服务不足地区)。事实上，许多农村地区 美国面临着独特的健康和教育挑战，犹他州也不能幸免。农村居民是 更有可能死于心血管疾病、慢性肺病和中风等健康问题，情况不佳 与城市人口相比，健康的许多社会决定因素。此外，来自农村地区的学生 经常缺乏教育资源，包括访问高速互联网、AP课程或课外活动 机遇。他们还在努力减少接触职业道路和合适的榜样的机会。 事实上，犹他州的农村学生高考成绩较低，进入大学的可能性也较小。使用 考虑到这些独特的挑战，农村和服务不足的犹他州培训经验(RUUTE)和地区 事务计划成立于2018年 在犹他大学。RUUTE是作为一项共同努力而发展起来的 将犹他大学的健康科学资源扩展到整个农村和服务不足的社区 为西部山区和创造独特的健康科学教育和专业机会 发展。RUUTE办事处在过去4年中迅速扩大(从#年的1名方案协调员 2018年至10名教职员工)，并每年继续开发新的项目。最新的一款 RUUTE的举措是开发暑期本科生研究体验(SURE)，试行 在2021年夏天。为本科生提供高质量的为期10周的辅导研究机会 来自西部山区的农村地区。Sure计划有一个总体目标，为学生提供 学术、研究和职业发展经验，这些经验将使他们在申请时具有竞争力 NHLBI任务区的健康科学项目。为了实现这一目标，目前的提案旨在：1) 制定为期10周的夏季强化研究计划，重点关注心脏、肺、血液和睡眠方面的健康 关注来自山间地区的少数族裔、弱势群体和代表性不足的学生 西部；2)开发同时为期10周的系列教育和职业发展机会，以 补充研究经验；3)为学生提供有效的网络和指导机会 确保留住个人； 4)通过跟踪参与者来确定SURE计划的有效性 并通过导师和学员的反馈。

PROJECT SUMMARY While significant educational barriers exist for minority, disadvantaged, and underrepresented groups it has been shown that undergraduate research programs targeting these individuals increases both enrollment in graduate programs and the number of individuals pursuing careers in the sciences. Therefore, developing undergraduate research programs for minority, disadvantaged, and underrepresented student groups will be vital for increasing their participation in health science graduate programs and career in the biomedical sciences. Groups nationally underrepresented, as defined by the NIH, include racial and ethnic groups but also individuals from disadvantaged background (rural, low-income or medically underserved area). Indeed, many rural areas across the US face unique health and educational challenges and Utah is not immune from these. Rural residents are more likely to die from health issues like cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, and stroke and fare poorly across many social determinants of health compared to urban populations. In addition, students from rural areas often lack educational resources including access to high-speed internet, AP coursework, or extracurricular opportunities. They also struggle with reduced exposure to career pathways and appropriate role models. Indeed, Utah’s rural students have lower college entrance exam scores and are less likely to enter college. With these unique challenges in mind the Rural and Underserved Utah Training Experience (RUUTE) & Regional Affairs program was established in 2018 at the University of Utah. RUUTE was developed as a concerted effort to extend the University of Utah’s Health Sciences resources to rural and underserved communities throughout the Intermountain West and to create unique opportunities for health science education and professional development. The RUUTE office has expanded rapidly over the past 4 years (from 1 program coordinator in 2018 to 10 faculty and staff members), and continues to develop new programs each year. One of the newest RUUTE initiatives was the development of a Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), piloted in the summer of 2021. to provide a high quality 10-week mentored research opportunity for undergraduates from rural areas in the Intermountain West. The SURE program has an overarching goal to provide students with academic, research, and professional development experiences that will make them competitive when applying to health science programs in the NHLBI mission areas. To accomplish this, the current proposal aims to: 1) Develop a 10-week intensive summer research program focused on heart, lung, blood, and sleep-specific health concerns for students from minority, disadvantaged, and underrepresented backgrounds from the Intermountain West; 2) Develop a concurrent 10-week education series and professional development opportunities to supplement the research experience; 3) Facilitate effective networking and mentoring opportunities for students to ensure retention of individuals; and 4) Determine the efficacy of the SURE program by tracking participants and through both mentor and mentee feedback.