PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
The mission of the IMSD@U2 program is to build a diverse biomedical workforce reflective of our general
population. In the past four years (2017-2020), the University of Utah’s commitment to diversity and inclusion
has resulted in successful recruitment of Underrepresented (UR) students to the Biosciences PhD programs, so
that UR students comprise 32% (49 UR/153 total) of the matriculated students. However, we recognize that
these substantial gains in the diversity of our incoming PhD classes over the last four years might fail to produce
the longer-term objectives of expanding diversity in the biomedical workforce, without effective, sustained and
comprehensive inclusion efforts that fortify scientific career development for UR students. The aims of the
IMSD@U2 are to train and launch the careers of diverse, creative, and talented underrepresented (UR) students
by 1) continuing to build our successful recruitment program for UR students to our University of Utah Bioscience
PhD programs; 2) developing and utilizing innovative programs to retain UR students through our ExCEEDS
(Excellence in Career Enhancement, Education, Development and Diversity in Science) framework, thereby
launching our UR trainees into successful careers; 3) preparing IMSD@U2 trainees to become confident leaders
in biomedical research; and 4) mentoring faculty mentors, thus developing and fostering a research-intensive
and inclusive environment in which UR trainees and scientists can flourish.
In order to accomplish these goals, key proposed activities that augment the current program include:
personalized and cohort mentoring, peer outreach efforts and community building, a dynamic onboarding
experience to support a successful start to graduate school, leadership development, faculty mentoring and
development to better meet the needs of the UR community. Ultimately, we intend for our trainees to complete
their qualifying exams, publish original research, apply for and obtain fellowships, complete their PhDs (70%
success rate) with a mean time to degree of 6 years, and advance to high-quality postdoctoral and career
positions in science-intensive and science-related careers in academia, industry, and government.