This Data Analysis and Coordination Center (DACC) will track the education and career progress of trainees from over 50 NHGRI-funded diversity-focused research training programs at 20 different institutions as part of the NHGRI goal to increase the participation of individuals from under- represented groups in genomics and Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) research. Our four Specific Aims of the DACC are (1) to maintain and update the already established evaluation and long-term tracking protocol for data collection, (2) to provide leadership and support for the research training consortium as a whole, (3) to conduct short- and long-term outcomes evaluation of the program trainees' success, and (4) to work closely with the NHGRI to develop, implement and evaluate an Annual Scientific Meeting for trainees, mentors, program faculty and staff from across all programs. The DACC previously established a web-based data entry system to collect and track outcomes data evaluating trainees' educational and career progress and to monitor their persistence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and biomedical research fields, particularly in genomics and ELSI, at each career level (i.e., undergraduate through post-graduate). Baseline data (at program entry) on 2,451 trainees have been collected and their education and career progress are being tracked; 60% have at least some follow-up data. Various indicators of success include publications, presentations and grants, remaining in STEM and research, and progressing to the next education/career level. We plan a 10-year follow-up of participants. National data for appropriate comparison groups will be used to benchmark the outcomes for trainees in these diversity-focused programs. We reported that over 70% of students across all baseline career levels remained in STEM and/or research at follow-up, and 90% of graduate students at baseline had persisted at follow-up in 2014. The DACC will now use both quantitative and qualitative analytic methods to evaluate how different training elements in the research training programs have influenced trainees' career goals and plans. The DACC, in close collaboration with NHGRI staff, also will plan and facilitate implementation of an Annual Scientific Meeting, where trainees from across all the programs will meet to present their research and network with other participants to enable forming research collaborations across the various programs and universities. The goals of the DACC are to collect quality data that will allow short- and long-term outcomes evaluations of the impact of these research training programs on increasing diversity in the STEM and biomedical fields, in general, and in the genomics and ELSI fields, in particular, and to identify the components of these training programs that have led to these successes. Achievement of the proposed DACC Aims directly addresses the broad trans-NIH mission to enhance the diversity of the biomedical research workforce, thereby increasing the diversity of researchers' perspectives and research ideas, so that health problems that disproportionately affect minority populations may be addressed.
This Data Analysis and Coordination Center (DACC) will track and evaluate the education and career progress of trainees from over 50 NHGRI-funded research training programs. The overall project focus is on increasing the persistence of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, and particularly on increasing the successful participation of students from diverse backgrounds in genomics and Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) research. This focus is consistent with the trans-NIH effort to promote diversity in the biomedical research workforce so that, by increasing the diversity of researchers' perspectives and ideas, health problems that disproportionately affect minority populations may be better addressed.
