We will recruit, nurture and train honors students in STEM majors at NMSU that are related to biomedical disciplines of Biochemistry, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Genetics, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology, Environmental Science, Horticulture and Animal Science for entry into strong graduate programs across the USA. Our ultimate goal is the graduation of doctorate students. The program will be research intensive with each student working in a group with our finest research faculty for a period of 24 month. The student will be expected to attend scientific meetings to present their research results to the scientific community. Along with the research exposure and training, the students will have special focused classes on Bioethics, Responsible Conduct of Research, Oral and Written Presentation, etc. The RCR and Ethics components will be taught by Dr. Mark Walker, a Philosophy Professor at NMSU whose expertise lies in Biomedical Research Ethics. There will be, in addition, a weekly Careers in Biomedical Sciences class taught by the Program Director where ethics will also be discussed. We will also bring in top scholars from NMSU and other research universities to present research. The latter group will also recruit our students into their summer and graduate programs. Summer research experiences off campus are critical to our students' success and each MARC student will go off campus, typically in the summer before their senior year. These experience give our students the confidence (and further research tools) needed to be successful in graduate programs. We will conduct undergraduate research appreciation events in the Fall and Spring semesters. The Fall event will lead to the appointment of 5 NMSU funded sophomores into research positions. These events will help recruit new students into the MARC program. These experiences as a whole will enhance the preparation and training of NMSU undergraduate as scientists to join the research efforts in the USA.
This proposal seeks out, trains and mentors outstanding underrepresented students for careers in biomedical sciences. Our program is focused on an intensive 24 month (for juniors and seniors) Undergraduate research experience that culminates with the submission of at least 7 applications to graduate schools for a doctorate in biomedical science. Included in this experience are special courses for training in oral presentations, writing, ethics, responsible conduct of research, bioinformatics, and a seminar series on biomedical science. Our graduates will enter graduate school and progress on to earning a Ph.D. for subsequent entry into research-oriented careers, academic, industrial or National laboratories, thereby increasing the strength of the USA to find new approaches to curing disease and general betterment of the Health of the Nation.
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