Saturday, December 21, 2024
12/21/2024
Realizing the promise of genomic medicine to improve disease diagnosis, predict outcomes, and guide treatment for the entire population depends on engaging and educating individuals from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds. This need is especially applicable to Alabama and the surrounding region, where a large proportion of the population experiences health care disparities, where there is a large African American population, and where many students—from both advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds—pursue undergraduate education in the state university system or in Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) in the region. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is committed to furthering the national goal of increasing the diversity of the biomedical workforce and is ideally positioned to do so in the field of genomic medicine. UAB ranks among the top 5% of U.S. universities based on all federal research and development expenditures and in the top 1% of all public, private, and international organizations funded by the National Institutes of Health. UAB is internationally recognized for its diversity and education programs. UAB has an outstanding record of successful training for undergraduate, graduate, and other professional school students from diverse backgrounds and has established several programs to aid undergraduate and post-baccalaureate (postbacc) students from underserved groups who aspire to doctoral and other professional careers (e.g., UAB PREP Scholars Program). This R25 renewal proposes to leverage and build on the environment and expertise at UAB to develop the Summer Undergraduate and Postbacc Experiences in Research in Genomic Medicine (SUPER-GM), built off of the foundation from our prior Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences in Genomic Medicine (SURE-GM) program. The current SURE-GM program has had 46 scholars from nine HBCUs successfully participate. SUPER-GM is SURE-GM reimagined as a summer program with a year-long possible postbacc extension tailored for HBCU undergraduate students that will provide more scholars with the necessary skills, exposure, and experiences to succeed in graduate and/or professional training in genomic medicine. To do so, we propose to expand the SUPER-GM summer research and professional development experience for rising undergraduate seniors (Aim 1), establish a SUPER-GM postbacc research and professional development experience for selected individuals who have completed the SUPER-GM summer experience and graduated with a STEM degree (Aim 2), and grow the SUPER-GM recruitment and engagement program with our HBCU partners (Aim 3). Implementation of these Aims, coupled with the robust assessment and review process we established during SURE-GM, will lead to greater participation of underrepresented students in the biomedical workforce, a greater diversity of scientists and physician-scientists engaged in biomedical research, and a greater appreciation of the roles and potential of genomic medicine in science and society.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).