The Summer Program to Increase Diversity in Biomedical Research and the Physician Workforce encompasses two training initiatives at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Both are designed to enhance the training experience of underrepresented minority and disadvantaged students who are interested in pursuing careers in medicine and research. The 8-week summer program for undergraduates is entitled The Pritzker School of Medicine Experience in Research (PSOMER), while the medical school program supports the participation of rising second year medical students in the 12-week Pritzker Summer Research Program (SRP). The goal is to provide strongly mentored summer experiences in research, as well as structured programming and mentoring which will encourage them to continue into medicine and biomedical research careers. This grant has been ongoing at the University of Chicago for over 15 years. At the time of the initial award, the goal was to provide support for SRP participation by Pritzker medical students - a highly diverse group of students, including higher than average percentages of students who are underrepresented in medicine. Over the years, the University of Chicago has achieved strong success in attracting its medical student graduates to careers in research and academic medicine, thus supporting efforts to increase the diversity of the faculty at our nation's medical schools. In 2008, when the grant was last renewed, the specific aims of the program were expanded to include a special program (PSOMER) developed specifically for high performing college students, who were either underrepresented in medicine or disadvantaged socioeconomically. The reason for this expansion was due to concerns about the strength of the pipeline of such students into medicine and an effort to support and expand this program. Over the last five years, PSOMER has supported the preparation of these students for future success in medicine and biomedical research. The Summer Program to Increase Diversity in Biomedical Research and the Physician Workforce has also benefited from a robust research environment at the University of Chicago, particularly in the mission areas supported by the NHLBI. Despite being a small institution, the University of Chicago has been highly successful in attracting grant support. The NHLBI currently funds over 40 research and training programs at the University of Chicago, and this gave us a variety of scientists from whom to choose to place our students with the goal of identifying as many mission-related subjects as possible. We are requesting continued support for the research training of 15 students/year. The program enjoys strong institutional support, evidenced by cost-sharing, provision of space, resources, and training by the BSD and Pritzker School of Medicine. Finally, the research environment of the University of Chicago provides a robust research environment to support the goals of this NHLBI supported program.
The Summer Program to Increase Diversity in Biomedical Research and the Physician Workforce encompasses two training initiatives designed to enhance the training experience of underrepresented minority and disadvantaged students who are interested in pursuing careers in medicine and research. The program for undergraduates is entitled 'The Pritzker School of Medicine Experience in Research (PSOMER),' while the medical school program supports the participation of rising second year medical students in the Pritzker Summer Research Program (SRP). The goal is to provide strongly mentored summer experiences in research, as well as structured programming and mentoring which will encourage students to progress into medicine and biomedical research careers.
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