A postdoctoral training program called ASPIRE (Academic Success via Postdoctoral Independence in Research and Education) is proposed to be run jointly between the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Morgan State University (MSU), and Coppin State University (CSU), all located in Baltimore, Maryland. Postdoctoral scholars will be recruited at a national level for a specialized program focused on translational research, bringing together technological innovations and biomedical science to impact major health problems in the United States and the world. Scholars will benefit from the world class research performed at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHSOM) and the exceptional education of underrepresented minority students enrolled at MSU (79% of the student population are African-American) and CSU (86% of the student population are African Americans), and will be groomed to become future academics and research-educators. The goals of this program are three-fold: (1) To prepare the next generation of broadly trained biomedical engineers for careers in diverse academic environments which combine research and teaching, (2) To increase STEM student retention and graduation rates at MSU and CSU, and (3) to enhance student research training capacity and faculty interactions in the areas of biomedical science and engineering. Each year, the scholars will balance research (75% effort) and teaching (25% effort) to achieve program goals. Three new ASPIRE scholars will be accepted each year up through Year 4 of this five-year program. The research program will be directed at the training of the future generation of biomedical scientists and engineers, who bring together the disciplines of biology, medicine and engineering. Each scholar will be trained in scientific laboratories at JHSOM and co-mentored by one of 29 Hopkins core faculty members in the School of Engineering and a clinical collaborator in the School of Medicine. In addition to their research training, scholars will earn a Teaching Academy certificate after participating in pedagogy training workshops at Hopkins and Morgan and a teaching practicum at Morgan or Coppin, designed in consultation with one of 25 Morgan and Coppin faculty teaching mentors. ASPIRE scholars will be part of a vibrant inter-institutional community, and they will have opportunities to mentor Morgan and Coppin students on research projects at Hopkins. Year 1 will focus on research immersion at JHU and pedagogical training at JHU, MSU and CSU. By Year 2, scholars will have made significant progress on their project and completed mentored teaching modules. In Year 3, scholars will begin the transition to research independence and will develop course modules or teach courses independently. By the end of their three-year training period, scholars will have advanced their academic careers in research and education, motivated new diverse populations of students towards biomedical careers, and promoted teaching and research interactions between the partnering institutions. An optional fourth year will include research funded by Hopkins mentors and additional teaching.
A postdoctoral training program called ASPIRE (Academic Success via Postdoctoral Independence in Research and Education) will be jointly run between the Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University and Coppin State University. Postdoctoral scholars will be recruited at a national level for a research program focused on engineering as applied to medicine and health care, and will also be trained in current teaching pedagogies at the partnering institutions. This is the roadmap that will lead to their success in academic careers.
