This project is providing scholarship support to twenty Master's degree students in the emerging area of Integrative Genomics, as well as ten scholarships for undergraduate biology majors with an interest in pursuing the Master's degree in this area. The program features expert mentoring, academic support, and research training with an aim of preparing students to contribute fully to society as professionals. Student cohorts and science learning community activities are also emphasized. The intellectual merit of the project lies in its attraction of students to the field of Integrative Genomics (or Evolutionary and Ecological Functional Genomics), a new interdisciplinary approach that focuses on finding genes that affect traits of interest and understanding the mechanisms underlying these effects. The PI's institution has established one of the first formal graduate programs in this newly emerging field, and is leading the way in meeting demands for increased interdisciplinary genomics training. The broader impacts of the project are felt through the combined undergraduate and graduate education approach that supports students in the transition from novice learner to expert, along with attention to career development opportunities. In addition, the institution's proximity to six Native American Indian reservations and numerous isolated rural communities within South Dakota results in large enrollments of students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This large candidate pool of potential scholars increases the potential for the project to broaden participation in STEM. Furthermore, the project is creating a pipeline to the Integrative Genomics program for Native American Indian students which should increase overall the number of Native American Indian STEM graduates pursuing advanced degrees.
