Abstract

The overarching goal of the Student Training Core is to develop a multi-tiered program that would recruit students from within the current Xavier population and provide them with the research training necessary for admission and success in graduate school.
Aim 1 : Increase the number of Xavier students who are actively considering biomedical research careers, through career education. Level 1 of the BUILD student training program seeks to educate all STEM majors about career options that students may not know about or have never considered for themselves, to include graduate school and research-oriented careers. Career aptitude assessment will also take place.
Aim 2 : Increase the number of Xavier students who participate in research training activities. A key element in Level 2 is student-led discussion groups, where more advanced students will guide participants to research and discuss popular literature on STEM-oriented topics such as the effect of hydraulic fracking on groundwater and concerns about the toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA) in plastics. Also in Level 2, a series of research-oriented seminars are presented to all interested STEM majors. These events will include more focused information on research careers, and will help students obtain skills needed by researchers.
Aim 3 : Increase the number of Xavier students who have the opportunity to carry out independent research projects.
This aim contributes to the overall goal of involving more students in meaningful, engaging undergraduate research experiences. Students who have shown active engagement in Level 2 discussion groups and have strong faculty recommendations will be designated as NIH BUILD Scholars. These Level 3 students will participate in independent research projects with faculty and student mentors, both at Xavier and at partner institutions as part of the relationship established through the Overall Program Aims. These students will receive scholarships, and will be expected to present their work at scientific conferences. NIH BUILD Scholars are highly encouraged to apply to graduate schools in biomedical fields.

Public Health Relevance

To develop the NIH workforce, the Student Training Core seeks to cast a wide net amongst the hundreds of African American STEM majors who already choose to attend Xavier University of Louisiana. This will occur through career education and research training activities.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Undergraduate NRSA Institutional Research Training Grants (TL4)
Project #
8TL4GM118968-02
Application #
8935912
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-HDM-K (50))
Program Officer
Hagan, Ann A
Project Start
2014-09-26
Project End
2019-06-30
Budget Start
2015-07-01
Budget End
2016-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
$898,965
Indirect Cost
$75,291

  Institution

Name
Xavier University of Louisiana
Department
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
020857876
City
New Orleans
State
LA
Country
United States
Zip Code
70125

  Publications

Toro, Tasha B; Edenfield, Samantha A; Hylton, Brandon J et al. (2018) Chelatable trace zinc causes low, irreproducible KDAC8 activity. Anal Biochem 540-541:9-14
Ponnapakkam, Tulasi; Saulsberry, Tyjah; Hill, Tarius et al. (2018) Inhibition of breast tumor growth in mice after treatment with ceramide analog 315. Anticancer Drugs 29:898-903
Dai, Lu; Smith, Charles D; Foroozesh, Maryam et al. (2018) The sphingosine kinase 2 inhibitor ABC294640 displays anti-non-small cell lung cancer activities in vitro and in vivo. Int J Cancer 142:2153-2162
Toro, Tasha B; Painter, Richard G; Haynes, Rashad A et al. (2018) Purification of metal-dependent lysine deacetylases with consistently high activity. Protein Expr Purif 141:1-6
Sridhar, Jayalakshmi; Goyal, Navneet; Liu, Jiawang et al. (2017) Review of Ligand Specificity Factors for CYP1A Subfamily Enzymes from Molecular Modeling Studies Reported to-Date. Molecules 22:
Foroozesh, Maryam; Goyal, Navneet; Jackson, Taylor et al. (2017) OPTIMIZATION OF SCALE-UP SYNTHESIS OF ANTI-CANCER CERAMIDE ANALOG 315. J Undergrad Chem Res 16:89-90
Toro, Tasha B; Bryant, Jenae R; Watt, Terry J (2017) Lysine Deacetylases Exhibit Distinct Changes in Activity Profiles Due to Fluorophore Conjugation of Substrates. Biochemistry 56:4549-4558
Foroozesh, Maryam; Giguette, Marguerite; Morgan, Kathleen et al. (2017) Building integrated pathways to independence for diverse biomedical researchers: Project Pathways, the BUILD program at Xavier University of Louisiana. BMC Proc 11:28
Powell, David; Chandra, Sruti; Dodson, Kyra et al. (2017) Aptamer-functionalized hybrid nanoparticle for the treatment of breast cancer. Eur J Pharm Biopharm 114:108-118
Toro, Tasha B; Pingali, Subramanya; Nguyen, Thao P et al. (2016) KDAC8 with High Basal Velocity Is Not Activated by N-Acetylthioureas. PLoS One 11:e0146900

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