The University of Iowa (UI) will increase the number of underrepresented minorities in biomedical research by retaining minority undergraduates in the biosciences and transitioning them into biomedical research graduate programs and ultimately to careers in biomedical research. 1. To increase retention of UI undergraduate minority students in the biosciences. 2. To facilitate the entry of undergraduate minority students into graduate and professional programs in the biosciences. 3. To encourage minority dental, medical, nursing, pharmacy and other health professional students to consider academic research careers-by providing them with research training and experience.
Specific Aims : 1. To provide minority students with pre-college foundation courses, continuing academic support and laboratory research experiences. 2. To enable minority to develop mentor relationships with successful faculty biomedical researchers. Mentors will employ minority students in their biomedical research laboratories. 3. To provide minority students with continuous enrichment seminars in social, ethnic and regulatory aspects of biomedical science; these will convey the excitement and promise of biomedical research careers. 4. To prepare minority bioscience undergraduates to enter biomedical graduate training programs. 5. To engage minority students in MD, DDS and other health professional programs in biomedical research and careers. The project will provide minority students with academic, financial and social support. in the summer immediately after high school graduation, they will begin courses on, Interpreting Scientific and Medical Literature, and Library and WWW Research. In year 1, students will serve as library research assistants to their faculty mentors. During the freshman year, and for four years thereafter, study groups run by graduate assistants, tutoring services, and participation in weekly bioscience seminars and receptions, will help students to succeed in their required and elective courses (mathematics, biology and chemistry, etc.). The next summer will include an Introduction to Laboratory Sciences Course (cell biology, immunobiology, neurobiology, and genetics) that incorporates discussion of The Responsible Conduct of Research. After completing this course, minority students will be RAs in their mentors' laboratories. Throughout their undergraduate years, minority students will continue RAships in mentors' labs. In summer number 3, minority students will complete a course in biomedical graduate admissions preparation and career planning. We will transition project students directly into supportive UI biomedical research graduate programs laboratories. The project features on-going evaluation and revision of program efforts so as to best meet minority students needs.
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