The proposed MARC U-STAR Program will support 50 underrepresented minority juniors that are highly qualified and have a desire to pursue doctoral degrees in the biomedical sciences. Students that enter the program will be rigorously screened through an application and interview process. Each will ultimately be selected for the program by a committee of biomedical scientists. Each MARC Scholar will be supported by a stipend and tuition payment for a period of two years. Supported students will be matched to prospective biomedical research faculty mentors by mutual agreement between the student and mentor. A primary goal of this program is to provide the students with training and other activities that will enhance their probability of successfully entering doctoral programs in the biomedical sciences. This will be accomplished by requiring the students to complete a research project defined by their mentors that can be completed by these young researchers within the two years that they participate in this program. Students will be expected to present their work in poster form at a national meeting and submit a paper for publicaton that includes their data. Students will also complete a Research Technical Writing course and a Research Design and Ethical Practices Course during this program anong with other unique biomedical scholarly activities and seminars such as the scientist breakfast club and Role Model Scientist teleconferences. MARC Scholars will also be requried to attend a GRE preparatory course, take the GRE, and will be assisted by the program to apply to at least 5 different doctoral programs. The MARC Program will be administered by three faculty members.
