We propose to continue a two-day annual conference that facilitates discussion among researchers funded through the Research to Understand and Inform Interventions that Promote the Research Careers of Students in the Biomedical and Behavioral Science initiative, and NIGMS-MORE staff. The primary objective of this conference is to provide an accelerated progress feedback mechanism that will allow NIGMS-MORE to: tailor subsequent grant cycle calls, identify promising possibilities for changes in intervention program requirements, consider alternative mechanisms for achieving the goal of increasing the number of underrepresented minority students choosing and succeeding in biomedical research careers. The annual meeting also serves a secondary, but related, objective -- to refine research. Through the Research to Understand and Inform Interventions initiative, the funded research projects have moved towards prospective studies with longitudinal components. When possible, control or comparison groups are also being followed. The result is the emergence of a rich source of data to inform training programs and advance research in this area of study. In addition to project reports and discussion, an outside practitioner will discuss conference content and next steps. A facilitator will also contribute towards the refinement of the discussion. In summary, this conference provides a forum in which researchers in this area can disseminate important findings, delineate areas for further study, and identify interventions that have the potential to aid in correcting the underrepresentation of minorities in the sciences. A summary of the meeting will be compiled into an annual white paper.
This two-day conference is about increasing the diversity of scientists who partake in and contribute to the public health fields. The meeting accelerates the dissemination of research findings that inform interventions, which promote the research careers of students the biomedical and behavioral sciences.
