From its beginning in 2009 and throughout its tenure, the mission of the Mentored Experiences in Research, Instruction, and Teaching (MERIT) Program has been and continues to be to train postdoctoral scholars to become tomorrow's leading researchers and academicians. To achieve its mission, the primary goal of the MERIT Program remains providing postdoctoral scholars with outstanding research and teaching experiences while improving the recruitment of under-represented groups into the field of biomedical and behavioral research. The MERIT Program is facilitated through a partnership of UAB, Stillman College, Oakwood University and Lawson State Community College; all schools are located in Alabama within a 100 mile radius. In this second competitive renewal, the research component continues to incorporate laboratory-based instruction together with ethics training and professional skills development, including instruction in grant writing and time and laboratory management. The teaching component remains comprised of four key elements: i) teaching-related coursework; ii) one-on-one mentoring of an undergraduate student; iii) course development; and iv) class-room and on-line teaching experiences. New programmatic elements include new and expanded partnerships at Stillman, Oakwood and Lawson State; enhanced academic job preparation; culture awareness mentor training; increased MERIT Scholar resources; and expanded institutional commitment. During the current grant period, assessment of the MERIT Program has indicated that: i) its scholars have progressed in their research and teaching abilities and job placement opportunities; ii) career development and the recruitment of underrepresented groups have increased at the host institution; and iii) science-related curriculua, the number of undergraduates applying to graduate programs in the biomedical sciences, and faculty research collaborations have been enhanced at the partner institutions. Currently, the MERIT Program funds nine training slots each year; in this application, we request to retain this same number of training slots per year.
The MERIT Program is designed to address the growing demand for future faculty who can conduct cutting-edge research and teach effectively. By providing outstanding postdoctoral scholars with formalized research training at the host institution and teaching instruction at the partner schools, which serve undergraduates from underrepresented groups, the MERIT Program meets this need while promoting the diversification of the future biomedical workforce.
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