Veterinary Research Initiative for Student Engagement (VetRISE) - The main objective of this program is to inspire a group of qualified veterinary students to pursue careers in biomedical research. The rationale stems from societal needs to bolster the workforce engaged in biomedical research and benefit from the unique skillset of veterinarians. The program design targets factors influencing career paths, such as active participation in research and social cognitive career theory. Our program distinguishes itself by its targeted applicants, distributed research environment, team mentoring, scope of research, and hybrid delivery of didactic content. The 11 week-long program leverages established relationships between Western University of Health Sciences (WUHS), the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, and the School of Medicine at the University of California San Diego. The training will manly consist of hands-on experience in high-priority areas of biomedical research. Over 30 experienced mentors in this program have active research on chronic and / or inflammatory diseases, with an emphasis on their immunobiology. Finally, the program will include formal and informal peer mentoring activities. Group training will focus mainly on responsible conduct of research, scientific rigor, reproducibility, career opportunities in biomedical research, dissemination of results, animal models (mini symposium), advances in biomedical research (mini-symposium), and dissemination of results. The format will include seminars, group discussions, panels, case-based sessions, and workshops, available remotely or in-person. Mandatory in-person activities will include orientation, social events, and two field trips. At the end of this program, we expect scholars to follow responsible conduct in research; provide a critical appraisal of methods used in their project to ensure scientific rigor and reproducibility; be competent in basic technical skills relevant to their project; describe selected research priorities, including relevant animal models; know career pathways available to veterinarians in biomedical research; and have gained resilience and confidence in their ability to engage in research. We expect up to 5 of these scholars to participate in the “veterinary scientist track” available to them until graduation. The short-term outcomes of the program include poster presentation at the National Veterinary Scientific Symposium and a podium presentation within 12 months of the program. In the long-term, we expect our veterinary scientist track alumni will show higher productivity and retention in research than alumni of the summer training program and matched students who did not participate in research.
