The University of Colorado at Boulder (UCB) proposes to implement a comprehensive effort that will increase the number of high achieving underrepresented minority students entering research careers in the biomedical sciences. The foundation for the UCB MBRS IMSD initiatives will be existing recruitment, retention, and educational programs for minority undergraduate and graduate students. These programs include successful summer bridge programs for incoming minority freshmen, educational and research opportunities through the HHMI funded Biological Sciences Initiative, a summer research internship program that prepares minority undergraduates for graduate school (SMART), a NSF funded Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program, and membership in the Leadership Alliance. The UCB MBRS IMSD effort will build upon these programs by creating new research and academic enrichment activities to keep minority undergraduates in the pipeline for graduate school, and to attract minority PhD students and encourage them to pursue biomedical research careers upon graduation. UCB will increase the numbers of undergraduate students who graduate prepared for graduate school and careers in biomedical research by: 1) Increasing the participation of incoming minority freshmen who express an interest in biomedical science majors in existing UCB summer bridge programs, 2) Increasing the number of underrepresented students who successfully complete Calculus, a requirement for students majoring in biomedical science programs, 3) Offering additional opportunities for biomedical science majors to participate in UCB's SMART program, and 4) Providing minority UCB undergraduate students with hands on laboratory training, research experiences, and enrichment activities through a new NIH Scholars Program. At the graduate level, the NIH MBRS IMSD effort will become aligned with UCB's NSF AGEP program to provide funding and other support for additional Chancellor's Teaching Fellowships for incoming minority doctoral students in biomedical science fields. UCB also plans to establish additional partnerships with other institutions through its membership in the Leadership Alliance, a national consortium of research and minority serving institutions that seeks to increase the representation of minorities in doctoral programs and in faculty careers.
