Project Summary
The biomedical workforce fails to represent the diverse makeup of the US population. Numerous
groups, including Indigenous and those from rural backgrounds, are significantly underrepresented in this
workforce that addresses health concerns of local and global significance. To support Indigenous students
and others from historically underrepresented backgrounds, our Research Advising and Mentoring
Professionals for Underrepresented Peoples (RAMP UP) program will build on successes, experiences,
and lessons learned from UAF's Biomedical Learning and Student Training (BLaST), our NIH-funded
Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BuILD) program. Specifically, RAMP UP will develop,
deliver, and evaluate a holistic and customized mentor training program that focuses on supporting
faculty, graduate students, and research staff located at institutions that serve underrepresented
undergraduate students in biomedical research. This intensive, year-long training program, augmented
with continuing support from RAMP UP staff and network resources, will administer a supportive and
culturally appropriate approach to create a network of mentors who possess the knowledge and skills they
require to provide academic advising, research mentoring, and psychosocial support to the students they
serve; especially those students who are typically underrepresented in the biomedical fields.