The proposed NIH Bridges to the Baccalaureate program between Allan Hancock College (AHC) and the California Polytechnic State University (CPSU) seeks to increase the number of underrepresented minority students successfully transferring from AHC to majors at CPSU in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. AHC, a Hispanic-serving institution, is a community college serving a rural population, and CPSU is the only university within 35 miles of AHC. This program will give Bridges students the academic skills, research experience, and support network necessary for success in these fields at CPSU and for successful application and acceptance to graduate programs in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. The overall goal of the program is to increase the number of minorities in the research and medical workforce. The program provides comprehensive support and guidance for AHC fifty Bridges scholars during their two years at the community college. Specifically, we plan to improve the quality of Bridges students'educational experience at AHC and CPSU by providing the following: 1) a student-faculty mentoring program in which Bridges students are mentored by AHC faculty;2) a Strategies for Success online course to help students improve study skills;3) an evening workshop series for core science courses to help students succeed academically at AHC;4) a monthly seminar series to introduce students to important topics such as research ethics, careers in biomedical and behavioral sciences, college application writing, and others;5) an advanced gross anatomy laboratory course to give students hands-on experience in human cadaver dissection, an experience expected to dramatically increase students'skill and interest in anatomy, a core theme in biomedical and behavioral sciences;and 6) a summer research internship at CPSU in which Bridges students plan and carry out a research project with CPSU faculty in biological sciences, biochemistry, or biomedical engineering. We believe that our proposal provides a complete, well-rounded program that will improve student success by providing them with the tools necessary for student engagement (awareness, interest, and motivation), capacity (knowledge and skills), and continuity (resources, opportunities, and guidance). This project is relevant to public health in that it will increase the number of underrepresented minorities in biomedical and behavioral careers, including research, academic, and clinical fields. It is important to increase minority representation in these fields because they are currently disproportionately underrepresented relative to the population, and because minority scientists are more likely to study topics of particular significance to minority populations, thereby broadening the diversity and scope of biomedical and behavioral inquiry.
