G-RISE: Educating and Training Tomorrow's Biomedical Workforce - Program Summary Morehouse School of Medicine’s (MSM) proposes a G-RISE training and career development program with the objective of addressing the deficits of biomedical scientists from underrepresented communities in the biomedical research workforce. A recent external review of MSM’s Graduate Education in Biomedical Sciences (GEBS) Program revealed that while the program’s success has been satisfactory in terms of persistence in the PhD curriculum and graduation, there is the continued need for tuition support for PhD students, skills development to increase competitiveness, expanding the pool of potential mentors, and expanding knowledge and preparation for academic and non-academic biomedical careers particularly in data science, bioinformatics and genomics. We propose two specific goals and objectives of the proposed G-RISE program. In Goal 1, we will support pre-doctoral graduate students in completing the Ph.D. Program with the knowledge base and skill set that will make them competitive for the biomedical research workforce. In Goal 2, we will leverage MSM Centers and Institutes, Student Learning Communities, and the Office of Career Connections to enhance the graduate experience and prepare G-RISE Scholars for academic and non-academic biomedical careers. The anticipated milestones include; increased numbers of abstracts accepted for presentation and increased numbers of published manuscripts; reach the optimal average graduation rate of 90% for G-RISE Scholars with an average of 80% of them entering the biomedical research workforce; expanding the data science, bioinformatics and genomic curricula; and increasing the quality and diversity of the mentor pool available to G- RISE Scholars and the overall graduate program. To accomplish these milestones, the G-RISE Program will include hands-on, focused skill development workshops; fellowship application development mini-camps; and active learning training for investigators. Sponsored seminars will include; seminars given by scientific leaders in their respective fields; student-led seminars to develop scientific presentation skills; and career development seminars. Additionally, the G-RISE program staff will enhance the academic experience of graduate students through Learning Communities, career exploration via the Office of Career Connections, and provide exposure to rapidly developing fields such as Data Science, Bioinformatics and Genomics.
