Members of racial/ethnic minority groups have traditionally been underrepresented in STEM fields in higher education and academia. This Administrative Supplement aims to combat this racial/ethnic disparity by funding Megan Mikhail, a highly promising Clinical Psychology graduate student from an underrepresented background (i.e., Mexican American) whose ultimate career goal is to secure a faculty position at a university psychology department or academic medical school. The career development plan outlined in this grant will significantly contribute to this goal by providing her with the dedicated time, training, research experiences, and mentorship necessary to become an expert in affective, hormonal, and genetic risk for eating disorders. During her undergraduate and post-baccalaureate years at Stanford and UC Berkeley, Megan gained invaluable research experience in genetic studies and studies of affect and emotion regulation. As a graduate student in my lab at Michigan State University (MSU), she has gained additional training in ovarian hormone influences on binge eating and related disorders. These experiences have fueled her passion for research and piqued her interest in combining these areas of inquiry to examine how affect/emotion regulation and hormonal/genetic risk interact to influence disordered eating. However, Megan will need additional, targeted training if she is to successfully pursue her goal of conducting programmatic research in the dynamic interplay between these factors in her future academic career. The individualized training plan proposed in this Supplement would substantially advance her training in affective, hormonal, and genetic risk for eating disorders through didactic coursework, an independent research project, and publication/grant writing. Importantly, due to the rigorous research and clinical training requirements in MSU?s Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program, it would be impossible for her to complete this comprehensive training plan without the support of the Administrative Supplement. Moreover, the secondary mentorship and expertise of Dr. Moser will provide Megan with training in affect and emotion regulation that will be essential in helping her to complete her research project and develop her dissertation proposal and a future NIH R36 application. Dr. Puckett?s expertise in minority identity will provide Megan with invaluable knowledge in how to navigate the obstacles and challenges of an academic career as a minority student. Notably, Megan?s proposed mentors all have extensive experience mentoring pre-doctoral students toward academic careers, including students from underrepresented backgrounds. Overall, this Administrative Supplement will greatly contribute to enhancing racial/ethnic diversity in STEM fields in academia by supporting a promising junior scholar in her future pursuit of an academic faculty position examining the interplay of affective, hormonal, and genetic risk in the development of eating disorders.
Ethnic and racial minorities have traditionally been underrepresented in higher education and academia. This Administrative Supplement proposes to combat this disparity by funding a promising graduate student from an underrepresented group (i.e., Mexican American) in her future pursuit of an academic faculty position. The career development plan outlined in this Supplement will provide her with the training opportunities, research experiences, and mentorship that are critically important to accomplish this goal.
