We seek to continue the Minority Access to Research Careers Undergraduate Science Training and Research (MARC U*STAR) program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). We will use our previous experience with both the MARC HURT and the MARC U*STAR program to improve the initiatives described below. The nation's need for scientific expertise and manpower are best met if all sectors of the population have access to opportunities that allow them to become fully engaged in the sciences. U.S. citizens and permanent residents belonging to some ethnic groups are particularly underrepresented in their participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). STEM includes basic biomedical research. Our goal is to increase their participation in basic biomedical research careers. We proposed to accomplish this by increasing the pool of high-achieving undergraduates in chemistry, biology, mathematics, psychology, kinesiology, physics, health sciences, and occupational and environmental health. Some of these high-achieving students will be selected to participate in the Junior-Senior component of the U*STAR program and will receive special further training that will ultimately prepare them for graduate school and lead to the Ph.D. To increase the pool of high-achieving students, we propose to continue and enhance several levels of intervention, outreach and advisement. We expect that these efforts will increase by 15% over the five year period the total number of students who are eligible to apply for the Junior-Senior component of MARC U*STAR. We shall solicit applications for the Junior-Senior component from students enrolled at CSUN as well as from students enrolled in the local community colleges. In the current year, we have identified 377 targeted minority juniors and seniors in basic biomedical sciences enrolled at CSUN whose grade point average (GPA) was higher than 3.00. These students are Afro-Americans, Chicanes and other Latinos, Native Americans, Filipinos and Pacific Islanders. Trainees will be selected from the pool by the MARC U*STAR Steering Committee which will be composed of administrators, MARC U*STAR mentors and two MARC U*STAR trainees. The goal of this component is to place 80% of students who complete the program in Ph.D. or MD/PhD. programs. ? ?
Showing the most recent 10 out of 15 publications
