Enabling full representation in science: the San Francisco BUILD project ’s agents of change affirm science skills, belonging and community
AbstractBackgroundThe underrepresentation of minority students in the sciences constrains innovation and productivity in the U.S. The SF BUILD project mission is to remove barriers to diversity by taking a “fix the institution” approach rather than a “fix the student” one. SF BUILD is transforming education, research, training, and mentoring at San Francisco State University, a premiere public university that primarily serves undergraduates and ethnic minority students. It boasts a large numbe r of faculty members from underrepresented groups (URGs), including many of the project leaders. These leaders collaborate ...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
A new approach to mentoring for research careers: the National Research Mentoring Network
AbstractBackground and purposeEffective mentorship is critical to the success of early stage investigators, and has been linked to enhanced mentee productivity, self-efficacy, and career satisfaction. The mission of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) is to provide all trainees across the biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences with evidence-based mentorship and professional development programming that emphasizes the benefits and challenges of diversity, inclusivity, and culture within mentoring relationships, and more broadly the research workforce. The purpose of this paper is to describe the st...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
BUILDing SCHOLARS: enhancing diversity among U.S. biomedical researchers in the Southwest
AbstractBackground and purposeWith funding from the National Institutes of Health, BUILDing SCHOLARS was established at The University of Texas at El Paso with the goal of implementing, evaluating and sustaining a suite of institutional, faculty and student development interventions in order to train the next generation of biomedical researchers from the U.S. Southwest region, where the need is dire among underserved communities. The focus is on supporting the infrastructure necessary to train and mentor students so they persist on pathways across a range of biomedical research fields. The purpose of this article is to hig...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
Advancing research opportunities and promoting pathways in graduate education: a systemic approach to BUILD training at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB)
AbstractBackground and purposeFirst-generation college graduates, racial and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds are gravely underrepresented in the health research workforce representing behavioral health sciences and biomedical sciences and engineering (BHS/BSE). Furthermore, relative to their peers, very few students from these underrepresented groups (URGs) earn scientific bachelor ’s degrees with even fewer earning doctorate degrees. Therefore, programs that engage and retain URGs in health-related research careers early on in their career path are imperative to prom...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
BUILDing BLaST: promoting rural students ’ biomedical research careers using a culturally responsive, one health approach
AbstractBackground and purposeMost postsecondary institutions in the state of Alaska (USA) have a broad mission to serve diverse students, many of whom come from schools in rural villages that are accessible only by plane, boat, or snowmobile. The major research university, the University of Alaska in Fairbanks (UAF), serves a population whereby 40% are from groups recognized as underrepresented in the biomedical workforce. The purpose of this article is to describe the Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD)-supported program in the state of Alaska that seeks to engage students from rural areas with a cultura...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
Using collaborative approaches with a multi-method, multi-site, multi-target intervention: evaluating the National Research Mentoring Network
AbstractBackground and purposeThe NIH-funded National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) aims to increase the representation and success of underrepresented groups (URGs) in biomedical research by enhancing the training and career development of individuals from diverse backgrounds, communities, and cultures. The national scope of NRMN, its wide array of innovative programs in mentor and mentee matching and training across the career spectrum, requires a collaborative evaluation strategy that addresses both internal and external evaluation needs. Due to the variety of programs implemented for each target group, the NRMN pro...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
Building integrated pathways to independence for diverse biomedical researchers: Project Pathways , the BUILD program at Xavier University of Louisiana
AbstractBackground and purposeXavier University of Louisiana is a historically Black and Catholic university that is nationally recognized for its science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula. Approximately 73% of Xavier ’s students are African American, and about 77% major in the biomedical sciences. Xavier is a national leader in the number of STEM majors who go on to receive M.D. degrees and Ph.D. degrees in science and engineering. Despite Xavier’s advances in this area, African Americans still earn about 7. 5% of the Bachelor’s degrees, less than 8% of the Master’s degrees, and less than 5...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
A participatory approach to evaluating a national training and institutional change initiative: the BUILD longitudinal evaluation
AbstractBackground and purposeThe National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds training programs to increase the numbers and skills of scientists who obtain NIH research grants, but few programs have been rigorously evaluated. The sizeable recent NIH investment in developing programs to increase the diversity of the NIH-funded workforce, implemented through the Diversity Program Consortium (DPC), is unusual in that it also funds a Consortium-wide evaluation plan, which spans the activities of the 10 BUilding Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) awardees and the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). The purpose of...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
Think 500, not 50! A scalable approach to student success in STEM
This article provides an in-depth description of STEM BUILD at UMBC and provides the context of this initiative within UMBC’s vision and mission.Key highlightsThe STEM BUILD model targets promising STEM students who enter as freshmen or transfer students and do not qualify for significant university or other scholarship support. Of primary importance to this initiative are capacity, scalability, and institutional sustainability, as we distill the advantages and opportunities of UMBC ’s successful scholars programs and expand their application to more students. The general approach is to infuse the mentoring and trainin...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
Evaluating efforts to diversify the biomedical workforce: the role and function of the Coordination and Evaluation Center of the Diversity Program Consortium
This article reviews the role and function of the CEC and the collaborative processes and achievements critical to establishing empirical evidence regarding the efficacy of federally-funded, quasi-experimental interventions across multiple sites. The integrated DPC evaluation is particularly significant because it is a collaboratively developed Consortium Wide Evaluation Plan and the first hypothesis-driven, large-scale systemic national longitudinal evaluation of training programs in the history of NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences.Key highlightsTo guide the longitudinal evaluation, the CEC-led literature...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
An entrepreneurial training model to enhance undergraduate training in biomedical research
AbstractBackgroundUndergraduate students who are interested in biomedical research typically work on a faculty member ’s research project, conduct one distinct task (e.g., running gels), and, step by step, enhance their skills. This “apprenticeship” model has been helpful in training many distinguished scientists over the years, but it has several potential drawbacks. For example, the students have limited au tonomy, and may not understand the big picture, which may result in students giving up on their goals for a research career. Also, the model is costly and may greatly depend on a single mentor.Key highlightsThe ...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
Enhancing research careers: an example of a US national diversity-focused, grant-writing training and coaching experiment
This article highlights the National Institutes of Health ’s (NIH) NRMN initiative to prepare diverse constituencies of early-stage biomedicine scientists for research careers by implementation of an evidence-based nationwide program of comprehensive grant writing and professional development.Program and key highlightsNRMN delivers four unique but complementary coaching models: the Proposal Preparation Program from the University of Minnesota (UMN); Grantwriters Coaching Groups from Northwestern University (NU); Grantwriting Uncovered: Maximizing Strategies, Help, Opportunities, Experiences from the University of Colorad...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
BUILD EXITO: a multi-level intervention to support diversity in health-focused research
AbstractBackground and purposeAs part of the NIH BUILD initiative to diversify the scientific workforce, the EXITO project is a large multi-institutional effort to provide comprehensive support and training for undergraduates from traditionally underrepresented student populations who aspire to health-related research careers. Portland State University, a major public urban university that prioritizes student access and opportunity, and Oregon Health& Science University, a research-intensive academic health center, lead the EXITO network comprised of eleven 2-year and 4-year institutions of higher education spanning Or...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
Critical race theory as a bridge in science training: the California State University, Northridge BUILD PODER program
AbstractBackground and purposeUnconscious bias and explicit forms of discrimination continue to pervade academic institutions. Multicultural and diversity training activities have not been sufficient in making structural and social changes leading to equity, therefore, a new form of critical consciousness is needed to train diverse scientists with new research questions, methods, and perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to describe Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD); Promoting Opportunities for Diversity in Education and Research (PODER), which is an undergraduate biomedical research training progra...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
A research-based inter-institutional collaboration to diversify the biomedical workforce: ReBUILDetroit
This article highlights the development, implementation and evolution of high-impact practices critical for student learning, research-based course development, and the creation of inter-institutional learning communities as a direct result of ReBUILDetroit.ImplicationsOur cross-institutional collaboration and leveraging of resources in a difficult economic environment, drawing students from high schools with a myriad of strengths and challenges, serves as a model for higher education institutions in large, urban centers who are seeking to diversify their workforces and provide additional opportunities for upward mobility ...
Source: BMC Proceedings - December 4, 2017 Category: Biomedical Science Source Type: research
