The rationale for the proposed G-RISE project begins with the need for a well-trained biomedical research workforce and the gains to be achieved by improving its diversity. Our position of research strength in the biomedical sciences, within a large public university in the heart of an underserved community, gives us both the motivation and the ability to cogently address these needs. In this project, a group of 22 faculty members at The City College of New York (CCNY) will build on the success of a prior RISE program to offer coordinated, innovative, and rigorous Ph.D. training in biochemistry, biophysics, bioorganic chemistry, (biomedical and chemical) engineering, and neuroscience. The proposed program has the capacity to support an average cohort of 13 underrepresented (UR) Ph.D. trainees each year for five years, appointing each trainee for 2-3 years. The broad mission of the proposed program is to focus research and professional skills development on underrepresented Ph.D. trainees at CCNY while also providing beneficial impact for our broader population of trainees and mentors in STEM disciplines. Our specific objectives and strategies are as follows: To recruit and retain talented minority Ph.D. trainees whose biomedical research interests align with the participating CCNY faculty-led teams. Vigorous recruitment will be coupled with sustained mentee-mentor matching, development of sound cohort and research identity, and provision of a supportive and inclusive training environment. To offer rigorous didactic training that combines disciplinary depth with interdisciplinary breadth while progressively building independent research design skills. Interdisciplinary degree tracks and co-teaching will be emphasized. To provide robust research training that fosters individual skills and creativity, cooperation within a research group, synergy among research groups, and the use of state-of-the-art technology to address important open issues in the biomedical sciences. To offer structured research-related activities that build STEM research identity and ethical values, an inclusive and supportive G-RISE cohort, career-ready skill sets and focus. To achieve trainee outcomes that include enhanced numbers and proportions of UR Ph.D.?s who achieve timely graduation in biomedical science and engineering disciplines, while also improving each trainee?s technical and communication skills, research productivity, and post-Ph.D. placement in the workforce. In the proposed project, a strategic combination of NIH and institutional resources will allow us to improve the reach and rigor of biomedical research training at CUNY?s City College of New York.
A group of 22 faculty researchers at The City College of New York (CCNY) proposes to leverage a position of research strength in the biomedical sciences, within a large public university in the heart of an underserved community, to address the need for a well-trained biomedical research workforce and the gains to be achieved by improving its diversity. Using a strategic combination of NIH and institutional resources, the G-RISE program at CCNY has the demonstrated capacity to support an average cohort of 13 underrepresented (UR) Ph.D. trainees each year for five years, appointing each trainee for 2-3 years. A coordinated program of stimulating interdisciplinary coursework, rigorous research training, and structured activities to build research identity, ethical values, and career readiness will improve the number and proportion of underrepresented Ph.D.?s who pursue rewarding careers in the biomedical research workforce.
