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.
