Saturday, April 20, 2024
4/20/2024
Project Summary/Abstract University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a diverse primarily undergraduate institution located in the largest population center in Alaska. Approximately 90% of students are from Alaska and 50% of the incoming students are from Anchorage, which includes the most diverse census tract in the US. Approximately 34% of the student body is comprised of minority students with 5% of the student body being Alaska Natives. In fact, 62% of the students graduating from the target majors over the last 7 years were from minoritized racial/ethnic or other underrepresented groups. The proposed program will support 4 junior and 4 senior students each year after the first year for a total of 20 students with majors in Biology, Chemistry, and Natural Sciences. The program objectives are as follows: 1. To recruit a diverse pool of undergraduates who are committed to completing their baccalaureate degrees and transitioning into a biomedical, research-focused higher degree, 2. To incorporate the most successful practices and innovations from BUILD EXITO and other undergraduate research programs into a comprehensive and evidence-based training program for students traditionally underrepresented in biomedical fields, and 3. To foster interest in and support the transition into research- oriented biomedical graduate programs. We will actively seek to provide for the trainees the academic foundation, the practical hands-on experience, the professional development skills, and key psychosocial aspects to develop well-rounded graduates in the biomedical sciences. The 2-year Biomed U-RISE program will begin with a cohort-based summer Boot Camp and Orientation Enrichment, a Laboratory Orientation, and a Research Placement that will prepare the trainees to begin working in the laboratory to gain key experience prior to the academic semester. The trainees will attend a scientific conference in the fall, will participate in enrichment activities, and will have a summer research experience at a larger institution. With these experiences, the second year trainees will serve as peer mentors for the first year trainees. The program outcomes for trainees are as follows: 1. 90% will graduate from the identified biomedical disciplines, 2. 85% will complete a summer research intensive experience at OHSU or similar research institution, 3. 90% will attend at least 1 scientific conference, 4. 80% will present a poster or paper at a scientific conference, 5. 80% will show evidence of biomedical research career preparedness (having a GPA of 3.5 or higher at graduation), 6. 70% will apply to graduate programs within 2 years of graduation, and 7. 60% will be accepted into graduate programs in the biomedical sciences. Through this program we will address the larger need to increase the diversity in the biomedical workforce to reflect the changing demographics.
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