Lehman College, the only CUNY senior College in the Bronx, is the cultural and educational center of the borough. The College serves the Bronx community with over 50% of the student population residing in the Bronx and 30% of the population residing in the adjacent borough of Manhattan or Westchester County. The population served by Lehman is mostly female (72%) and from groups underrepresented in the sciences (85%). The proposal supports the vision of Lehman College?s new President to make Lehman College the agent of transformation for aspiring Bronx youth. Thus, the long- term goals of this proposal are to ensure that Lehman?s undergraduate population, particularly students underrepresented in science and/or from low-income households, are able to participate significantly in the research enterprise and are well-mentored and well-prepared to seek post-graduate study and pursue successful careers in the biomedical research fields. In order to achieve our goals, we propose a program that combines academic support for our potential RISE students (Specific Aim 1) with a mixture of training and mentoring in both research and non-cognitive skills for our RISE Scholars (Specific Aim 2). The objective of this proposal is to provide undergraduate students a program that combines academic support with training and mentoring in both research and non- cognitive skills that will ensure admission to and success in Ph.D. programs in the biomedical sciences. Our rationale for this project is, that upon completion of the proposed training, students will have acquired the technical and career-building skills required to either complete a Ph.D. in the biomedical sciences or to pursue successful careers in the field of biomedical research. This objective will be realized through the following Specific Aims: 1) Provide course support and research exposure to introductory science students to build a large pool of potential RISE students. 2) Select 10 RISE scholars, 5 per year, and provide them with a set of outstanding research experiences and a support network to ensure that 100% graduate with a BA or BS in either Biology or Chemistry, pursue an advanced degree in biomedical research, and succeed in their post-graduate education. In addition, we will conduct a thorough evaluation program that is imbedded into the culture of the program under the guidance of a professional evaluator. !
RESEARCH NARRATIVE Underrepresented (UR) undergraduate students from Lehman College will participate in the Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) program. The Lehman RISE program has been designed to bring UR students into the STEM career pipeline and thus contribute to the diversity of the biomedical workforce in the US.
