Enhancing Diversity in the Summer Program in Neuroscience at Boston University - ABSTRACT The Summer Program in Neuroscience (SPIN) at Boston University School of Medicine is a unique, annual 8- week program in which 10–15 undergraduate students perform mentored neuroscience research, receive instruction in graduate-/medical-level neuroscience, and observe clinical activities focused on the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders. In the classroom, students meet with decorated medical school teaching faculty and learn basic and clinical neuroscience through small-group interactive sessions, analysis of clinical and research problems and cases, analysis of brain structure using microscopic brain sections and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans, as well as hands-on exploration and dissection of human brains. For the research portion of the program, students are paired with a faculty member from a basic science or clinical department and conduct a mentored research project, the results of which are presented at a public conference that closes the session. In the clinic, students rotate on neurology and neurosurgery inpatient and outpatient services, attend brain cuttings sessions in the hospital morgue, and review radiographic studies with working neuroradiologists. These three aspects of the program intersect to generate a nuanced education in the structure and function of the brain in health and disease from both research and clinical perspectives. To help participants integrate SPIN experiences with their future, sessions are held that focus on scientific skills and career development, including sessions on applying to graduate and medical schools, developing oral presentation skills, and interview skills. End-of-program interviews with prior participants indicate students felt that SPIN was a life-changing experience that encouraged and helped them pursue further graduate and medical education. Although we have made every attempt to recruit students from traditionally underrepresented minority backgrounds, the tuition-based model of our program has been a significant barrier. As a result, SPIN participants have lacked the diversity that characterize the ideal clinical and research teams. Funding from this proposal would subsidize the cost of participating in the program (tuition and housing) and provide stipend support for six scholarships. We will target recruitment to outstanding underrepresented minority students in institutions and biomedical conferences historically attended by these students, and restructure our application and our admittance for tuition-based students to place an emphasis on accepting students who have demonstrated commitment to diversity. We also propose to change the program to target specific scientific skills and expand programming of career development. Finally, we will implement a thorough real-time tracking and evaluation plan to follow our students and measure the impact of the program on their career choices through the establishment of digitally-based interactions and communities. The goal of this proposal is to provide talented students from underrepresented populations with access to formative experiences and training that will guide them toward successful biomedical careers and thus diversify the biomedical workforce.
