The goal of this Short-Term Research Education Program is to increase the participation of underrepresented individuals from diverse backgrounds in research in the areas of cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, and other related health disorders. We will accomplish this by providing an intensive summer research experience for qualified undergraduate students which will aid their successful entry into biomedical graduate, medical, dental, or public health related programs. This renewal proposal is designed to replace our successful current R25 Minority Summer Research Program (R25HL088742) which is in its last year, but strengthened significantly to emphasize issues of disparity. For example, summer undergraduate students will attend weekly seminars devoted to issues of disparity, visit clinics (diabetes, hypertension, etc.) that are of high interest in minoity health care, be paired with a minority Vanderbilt graduate student, and meet one on one with minority physicians.
This program is dedicated to an important societal goal, namely increasing the number of UR undergraduate students who will enter graduate programs in the biomedical sciences, medical or dental schools, or other health related programs such as public health. This program will prepare them for graduate work with an extensive, creative, and carefully mentored summer research and training program. The result will be to increase the number of these individuals entering into all areas of graduate and professional schools and thus increasing their presence in all areas of the biomedical workforce.
