This is a new application from the University of Iowa (U Iowa) for an R25 Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP). It draws upon the collective talent and commitment of >40 experienced faculty to provide an exceptional experience to 10 talented participants each year who are members of under- represented (UR) groups. This application is based on an innovative employment initiative undertaken two years ago that enabled recent college graduates with career aspirations in the health professions and biomedical sciences to secure research positions in laboratories for 1-2 years without competing for positions with career research staff. The program has been a great success. With this experience, we are now positioned to develop a program specific to individuals interested in the PhD or MD/PhD. This mechanism will provide the financial support, infrastructure, resources, and programmatic activities necessary to enhance the qualifications and experiences of its participants, making them highly competitive for top-tier graduate programs - including those at U Iowa. The program includes an introductory class in fundamental laboratory skills, followed by two 3-week research rotations, selection of a laboratory and identification of a research problem, and submission of an individual development plan that is revisited quarterly. Participants will attend monthly career development workshops, weekly scientific seminars and laboratory meetings, present updates on their research at quarterly work-in-progress meetings, and present their research at multiple local and one national meeting. They will take one graduate level course in the fall and spring semester, and will be provided a GRE preparatory course. Each participant will have a research committee comprised of their mentor, a faculty member from the Advisory Committee, and another faculty member so that knowledgeable letters of recommendation can be written on their behalf. Participants will be carefully mentored through the graduate school application and interview processes. In order to maximize the mentoring experience and foster learning environments that are conducive to inclusive excellence, mentors will participate in professional development seminars that will focus on cross-cultural mentoring. In addition, the institution will cover the costs of visits by five gradute program directors each year to highlight the program, showcase its participants and develop pipelines to top programs. The participants will be integrated into the activities of first-year graduate students. Metrics of success for the initial 5 years include the number of participants who apply for and are accepted in a graduate program, that author or co-author a publication, the number of invitations received to interview and the quality of those programs, and the number who eventually secure independent funding by appointment to T32 or F31 mechanisms. Mentors, participants and programs into which the participants matriculate will be surveyed annually for feedback and as a means to track the career paths of our participants. The program will undergo continual assessment so that it can adapt to the needs of the participants.
This new post-baccalaureate research education program is designed to address hurdles that hamper diversity in the biomedical sciences by first providing a customized and highly structured program of didactics and independent research projects to UR participants that will enable them to be highly competitive for top-tier PhD or MD/PhD programs. Second, by highlighting the accomplishments of the participants and ensuring their integration into the graduate student population, it will increase the awareness of faculty and students alike as to the importance of diversity in biomedical research. Third, exemplary mentoring of participants will provide them with skills and training they can offer to the next generation of URM as they progress in their own careers.
