ABSTRACT
The goal of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Postbaccalaureate Research Education
Program (PREP) is to increase the number of underrepresented minority (URM) students in the
biomedical sciences by preparing trainees for matriculation into highly competitive and rigorous
Ph.D. graduate programs and future success in science-related fields. CSHL PREP will provide
world-class research experience, professional development, and development of scientific
identity and community to its participants. Funding is requested for four PREP Scholars to
conduct a year of research in cancer and molecular biology, neuroscience, genetics and
genomics, quantitative biology, and plant biology, under the mentorship of a CSHL PREP
faculty member. Scholars will create an individual development plan that defines their research
interests, identifies relevant coursework, and establishes goals and timelines for their time in the
program and their future careers. They will participate in the Skills Development course,
designed exclusively for them, that includes writing and oral presentation workshops, and
guidance in preparing for graduate school applications. They will also attend the PREP
Bootcamp course to broaden their knowledge base in the biosciences. Scholars will have
numerous opportunities to develop their scientific identity and community. They will participate
in campus-wide seminars, meetings and journal clubs with their research laboratories, national
conferences, and the graduate student run Graduate Seminar Series. They will benefit from
having a Research Mentor, a Direct Mentor (a graduate student or postdoc in their research
laboratories) and a Near-Peer Mentor (a graduate student). These mentors will play an active
role in integrating the Scholars into the CSHL community, and help them build a scientific
network, such as with the approximately 12,000 scientists that visit CSHL annually to attend the
Meetings and Courses program. The PREP Committee will have oversight of CSHL PREP. The
committee will meet monthly with the Scholars at PREP Teas, and with the Scholar and their
Research Mentor in quarterly Progress Meetings. Moreover, the Program Director and Program
Coordinator will have Check-In meetings with individual Scholars monthly. Effectiveness of
CSHL PREP will be evaluated internally by CSHL’s School administrators and externally by
Barone Research Services through a combination of survey results, confidential reports by
Research Mentors, and exit interviews.