It is well documented that a diverse workforce has the potential to reduce racial and ethnic disparities, which have strong effects in aging populations1-3. As the percentage of racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. population increases, including among the aged population, the public health workforce should reflect this diversity1,4,5. With an increase in undergraduate public health majors across the country6,7, due in part to heightened excitement and opportunities in data science and quantitative big data analysis, and with breakthroughs in the science of aging on the horizon, this is an opportune moment to develop strong pipeline programs for underrepresented minority (URM) undergraduates. We will target URM undergraduates who have quantitative and computational interests and expose them to opportunities for graduate study and research careers, and the possibilities and excitement of marrying their quantitative interests with substantive research in aging. Introducing undergraduates, who are more diverse in public health majors than other majors7, and than graduate students6, to careers in public health, holds much promise for increasing the diversity of graduate students and faculty in the field, which has increased very little in the past 20 years6. This holds for the MSTEM subfields of public health, such as Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Data Science, as well. Motivated by these factors, and in response to NIA Funding Opportunity (PAR-17-290), ?MSTEM: Advancing Diversity in Aging Research through Undergraduate Education (R25),? we propose an intensive, six-week summer program for 12 undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds with interests in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Data Science and other quantitative methods to learn about the applications of these methods in aging research. The summer program includes formal instruction, a broad lecture series, mentored research projects, oral research presentation at an annual symposium, career and professional development sessions, site visits to labs and other research settings, group and informal mentoring, social activities and network building, and training in responsible conduct of research. To reinforce the intensive summer experience, we will continue to offer group and individual mentoring and research experiences into the following academic years. Additionally, we will offer a select group of summer program participants the opportunity to return to NYU during the January term for an extended research experience and a quantitative course. With the guidance of a professional evaluator and internal and external advisory committees, we will evaluate all aspects of our program and review results in real-time to enable constant adjustment and improvement. Our proposal addresses three critical needs to strengthen and galvanize the research enterprise in the field of aging: increased engagement of MSTEM experts, increased engagement of URM researchers, and increased attention to disparities. We believe that our intensive and long-term programmatic components will support the entry of talented URM students into successful careers in MSTEM research in aging.
The goal of this R25 program is to increase the participation of underrepresented minority groups in the fields of Biostatistics and quantitative Public Health, with a collaborative focus on the diseases and processes of aging. The program includes an intensive six-week summer program for 12 students, with formal and informal instruction, mentored research, and extensive professional development activities, with a culminating symposium. For lasting impact, follow-up mentoring, continuing research and professional development will occur on a regular basis, both via webcast platforms and return, in-person visits.
