The objective of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) Post-baccalaureate Research and Education Program (PennPREP) is to guide recent college graduates from underrepresented (UR) groups into graduate school to pursue biomedical research. At least 9 UR scholars are identified each year who are interested in biomedical research but lack the experience or expertise necessary for graduate school training. Each scholar is matched with a research mentor among the graduate training faculty and provided with a significant one year (or possibly longer) research project. An Individual Student Development Plan (IDP) is developed for each scholar to ensure that the scholar undertakes training appropriate to his or her own scientific needs and interests, including graduate or advanced undergraduate coursework. Scholars also develop the skills necessary for success in graduate school by completing workshops in biostatistics, grant writing, the responsible conduct of research, critical analysis of scientific literature, and oral and written presentation skills. Scholars also participate in a one- on-one writing workshop with a professional writing instructor. Scholars meet weekly as a group to discuss scientific journal articles and their own research, in order to further develop their skills in the critical evaluation of research and the delivery of scientific presentations, as well as to increase their exposure to research outside their own laboratory. In addition, scholars receive advising for the graduate school application process, including selecting programs, writing application essays, and practicing interviews. If necessary, scholars will take a GRE or MCAT preparation course. Scholars also participate in various lunches and seminars with Penn faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students who share their training experiences, on-going research, and academic paths. As of 2012, scholars meet annually with scholars, faculty, and advisors of PREP programs at other institutions in order to network and gain additional perspectives. In addition, all PREP scholars are expected to attend a national conference each year, such as ABRCMS or a discipline-specific meeting as an additional means of broadening exposure to research and establishing networks. Several opportunities are in place for PREP alumni to remain engaged with the program including: (1) PREPConnect, via which PREP alumni connect virtually (e.g. Skype), once/month with current scholars to offer mentoring and guidance, and (2) the PREP Alumni Advisory Board, which will meet twice/year to evaluate current programming initiatives, events and meetings. Mechanisms are in place for measuring the effectiveness of the program's various components and improving the training experience over time. The ultimate measure of the program's success is the percentage of scholars who are admitted to PhD or MD-PhD training programs and pursue a research career. Over the past 13 years, 84% (62/74) of PennPREP scholars who have successfully completed the program have been admitted to PhD or MD-PhD programs. Nineteen of these PennPREP alumni have received the PhD and moved on to post-doctoral training and/or research careers.

Public Health Relevance

This program is designed to provide recent college graduates from groups underrepresented (UR) in the biomedical sciences with an intensive research experience, related enrichment activities, and academic advising for a period of a year or possibly longer. The goal of the program is to increase the number of students from UR backgrounds who enroll in a PhD program and pursue a research career. Ultimately, it is expected that an increase in UR biomedical researchers will diversify the biomedical workforce and help to reduce health care disparities.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Education Projects (R25)
Project #
5R25GM071745-16
Application #
10115060
Study Section
NIGMS Initial Review Group (TWD)
Program Officer
Brown, Anissa F
Project Start
2005-09-30
Project End
2024-02-29
Budget Start
2021-03-01
Budget End
2022-02-28
Support Year
16
Fiscal Year
2021
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Pennsylvania
Department
Pathology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
042250712
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19104
Abdul Halim, Mohd Farid; Rodriguez, Ronald; Stoltzfus, Jonathan D et al. (2018) Conserved residues are critical for Haloferax volcanii archaeosortase catalytic activity: Implications for convergent evolution of the catalytic mechanisms of non-homologous sortases from archaea and bacteria. Mol Microbiol 108:276-287
Reyes Ruiz, Valeria M; Ramirez, Jasmine; Naseer, Nawar et al. (2017) Broad detection of bacterial type III secretion system and flagellin proteins by the human NAIP/NLRC4 inflammasome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 114:13242-13247
Ung, Hoameng; Cazares, Christian; Nanivadekar, Ameya et al. (2017) Interictal epileptiform activity outside the seizure onset zone impacts cognition. Brain 140:2157-2168
Cadena, Cristhian; Stavrou, Spyridon; Manzoni, Tomaz et al. (2016) The effect of HIV-1 Vif polymorphisms on A3G anti-viral activity in an in vivo mouse model. Retrovirology 13:45
Yashiro-Ohtani, Yumi; Wang, Hongfang; Zang, Chongzhi et al. (2014) Long-range enhancer activity determines Myc sensitivity to Notch inhibitors in T cell leukemia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:E4946-53
Bauer, Deborah E; Jackson, Joshua G; Genda, Elizabeth N et al. (2012) The glutamate transporter, GLAST, participates in a macromolecular complex that supports glutamate metabolism. Neurochem Int 61:566-74
Dedhia, Priya H; Keeshan, Karen; Uljon, Sacha et al. (2010) Differential ability of Tribbles family members to promote degradation of C/EBPalpha and induce acute myelogenous leukemia. Blood 116:1321-8
Keeshan, Karen; Bailis, Will; Dedhia, Priya H et al. (2010) Transformation by Tribbles homolog 2 (Trib2) requires both the Trib2 kinase domain and COP1 binding. Blood 116:4948-57
Harrison, Jessamina E; Lynch, Jonathan B; Sierra, Luz-Jeannette et al. (2008) Baseline resistance of primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 strains to the CXCR4 inhibitor AMD3100. J Virol 82:11695-704