We need to train more scientists from underrepresented ethnic groups at both the national and state levels because the number of students majoring in the sciences has been declining for a number of years, leading to predictions of future shortages in science faculty and technical professionals. Attempts to reverse this decline are hampered by the low participation in the sciences of the most rapidly growing ethnic populations: at UCLA, in contrast to the ethnic diversity of its undergraduate population, few students from ethnic minorities complete majors (B.A./B.S.) in Biology, Biochemistry, or Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. UCLA, because of the demographics of Southern California, has the potential to train a large number of young people from underrepresented groups in the biomedical sciences. The investigators propose to increase the number of underrepresented students entering in the biomedical sciences by (1) communicating exciting developments in the biomedical sciences to community college students through an outreach program; (2) providing a series of workshops for community college instructors on the latest developments in biotechnology, computer-assisted instruction and use of computers in biomedical research; (3) providing mentors for promising students, and (4) promoting student participation by providing a hands- on learning experience. Workshops for community college faculty, seminars, and bridge programs to prepare students for the challenges of the university, will both stimulate student interest and ease the transition from 2-year to 4-year institutions. Internships will be offered to community college students in order to build motivation and interest for careers in the biomedical sciences and to train scholars from ethnic minorities through a combination of research activities, assistance with academic work and guidance by faculty. Participating faculty have productive research programs and considerable physical resources. They have all successfully supervised many graduate and undergraduate research students and are committed to this project and its goal to build a cadre of underrepresented students dedicated to future careers in the biomedical sciences. They will accomplish this goal through linkages between UCLA and community colleges (cc) with concentrated populations of underrepresented students. The impact of this program on the scientific education and training of underrepresented students will be tremendous.
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