Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY) submits this continuation proposal of the El Puente: Bridges to Biomedical Research Careers, a Bridges to the Baccalaureate program, in collaboration with Lehman College of CUNY, The City College of CUNY, and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-Campus at Newark. Hostos Community College is located in New York City's South Bronx and it is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS): 78.9% of its population is Hispanic; 18.1%, black, non-Hispanic; 1.9% White; and 1.1% Asian. Hostos Community College's mission is to provide educational opportunities for Hispanics, African Americans and other residents of New York City encountering significant barriers to higher education and professional careers. Hostos has academic programs that offer promising career opportunities, especially in the allied health sciences, and technological fields. The main goals of this program are: (l) to provide minority students with the opportunity to engage in research activities at the participating senior colleges; (2) to facilitate their transfer to a four-year baccalaureate program in the biomedical sciences; (3) to enhance the preparedness of the participants for continuing a bachelor's degree in the biomedical sciences; and (4) engage in other relevant research and academic activities with appropriate faculty at partner senior colleges. Activities sponsored by this Bridges program will continue the exposure of Hostos students to different aspects of pursuing careers in the biomedical sciences. Their participation in this program will facilitate their transfer to four-year degrees in biomedical sciences at the participating senior colleges. The partner senior colleges will expand their student transfer base while they help prepare a new generation of minority biomedical science professionals. Faculty members at both the senior colleges and Hostos have started fruitful research collaborations, which involve the active participation of Bridges students, and they will continue to develop the ability to share important career-building opportunities.
