This project is developing a training community for undergraduate and graduate students in the area of quantitative physiology with a focus on academically talented students with demonstrated financial need. In addition to providing financial support for up to forty-eight students annually the project offers community support as well as classroom and experiential learning opportunities in quantitative and experimental aspects of physiology. The intellectual merit of the project lies in its support structures that focus on the academic and career success of students and include vertical mentoring from secondary school through graduate school, curricular guidance, collaborative interdisciplinary training, and community outreach activities. For example, graduate students in the program help to recruit from their previous institutions and undergraduates do the same from their secondary schools. Graduate students along with upper-division undergraduates also serve as mentors for lower-division students. Furthermore, students with complementary backgrounds are paired to promote interdisciplinary study and research. The broader impacts of the project are felt through its emphasis on motivating the pursuit of higher education and mitigating against attrition issues through the different student support activities. Furthermore, the program is preparing students for future employment or further academic training by teaching students to approach problems outside their expertise and work with complementary experts to propose and achieve solutions. The program is also reaching beyond the institution to establish pipelines of financially needy students from secondary school through graduate school.
