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Examples of NIGMS-Funded NRSA Training Programs with Notable Records of Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minority Students

This page provides selected examples of NIGMS-funded National Research Service Award (NRSA) training programs that have had noteworthy achievement in the recruitment and retention of individuals from underrepresented groups. All NIH-funded NRSA training programs are required to demonstrate successful recruitment and retention plans to enhance diversity. On average, NIH-funded predoctoral training programs support approximately 12 percent underrepresented minority students. It is important that all NRSA T32 training programs continue to increase the numbers of underrepresented minority students and fellows that they serve. The programs identified below have had increasing success or have demonstrated marked improvement in recruiting and training such individuals. NIGMS expects that the diversity of all its training programs will continue to increase and to be more representative of the general population. The programs listed below, and their most effective recruitment and retention strategies, are offered as examples of a larger group of programs that are striving to meet this goal. These examples are intended to inform and encourage the efforts of other training programs. The data and descriptions of each program's efforts were provided by the training grant principal investigators.

Comments, questions, and other examples of successful strategies can be sent to any NIGMS staff member who manages training grant programs.

Underrepresented Minority Representation in NIGMS-Funded NRSA Training Programs

For more detailed information on underrepresented minority (URM) representation in each training program, including data on recent trends and the most successful recruitment and retention strategies, see the training programs listed below. Information provided is current as of July 2008.

Training Program Institution(s) Program Director URM in Training Program
Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Albert Einstein College of Medicine Myles Akabas, M.D., Ph.D.
718-430-3360
makabas@aecom.yu.edu
18 of 129 (14 percent)
Training in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Genetics (CMBG) Albert Einstein College of Medicine Margaret Kielian, Ph.D.
718-430-3638
kielian@aecom.yu.edu
7 of 18 (39 percent)
Training Program in Quantitative Biology and Physiology (QBP) Boston University Ed Damiano, Ph.D.
617-353-9493
edamiano@bu.edu
4 of 27 (15 percent)
Postdoctoral Training Program in Clinical Pharmacology Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University Scott A. Waldman, M.D., Ph.D.
215-955-6086
scott.waldma@jefferson.edu
5 of 22 (23 percent)
Graduate Training Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Pierre A. Coulombe, Ph.D.
410-614-0510
coulombe@jhmi.edu
34 of 126 (29 percent)
Medical Scientist Training Program Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Robert F. Siliciano, M.D., Ph.D.
410-955-2958
rsiliciano@jhmi.edu
27 of 99 (27 percent)
Predoctoral Training Program in Human Genetics Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine David Valle, M.D.
410-955-4260
dvalle@jhmi.edu
10 of 66 (15 percent)
Integrated Training in Pharmacological Sciences Mount Sinai School of Medicine Terry Ann Krulwich, Ph.D.
212-241-7280
terry.krulwich@mssm.edu
2 of 7 (28 percent)
Cellular and Molecular Basis of Disease Training Program Northwestern University Robert Holmgren, Ph.D.
847-491-5460
r-holmgren@northwestern.edu
4 of 20 (20 percent)
Predoctoral Training in Genetics and Molecular Biology Princeton University Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D.
609-258-2857
bbassler@molbio.princeton.edu
12 of 146 (8 percent)
Genetics and Cell Biology The Rockefeller University Sidney Strickland, Ph.D.
212-327-8705
strickland@rockefeller.edu
4 of 10 (40 percent)
Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Program University of California, Los Angeles Steven G. Clarke, Ph.D.
301-825-8754
clarke@mbi.ucla.edu
7 of 37 (19 percent)
Chemistry and Chemistry Biology Graduate Program (CCB) University of California, San Francisco Charles Craik, Ph.D.
415-476-8146
craik@cgl.ucsf.edu
9 of 50 (18 percent)
Medical Scientist Training Program University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus Arthur Gutierrez-Hartmann, M.D.
303-724-4600
mstp@uchsc.edu
12 of 55 (22 percent)
Graduate Training in Systems and Integrative Biology University of Pennsylvania Michael P. Nusbaum, Ph.D.
215-898-1585
nusbaum@mail.med.upenn.edu
3 of 11 (27 percent)
Mechanisms of Drug Action and Disposition University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center David J. Mangelsdorf, Ph.D.
214-645-6129
Davo.Mango@UTSouthwestern.edu
3 of 11 (27 percent)
Biotechnology Training Program University of Wisconsin, Madison

Brian G. Fox, Ph.D.
608-262-6753
biotech@bact.wisc.edu

7 of 33 (21 percent)
Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D. Program (MSTP) Weill Medical College of Cornell University Olaf S. Andersen, M.D.
212-746-6023
sparre@med.cornell.edu
28 of 110 (25 percent)


Training Program: Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)
Institution: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Program Director: Myles Akabas, M.D., Ph.D.
718-430-3360
makabas@aecom.yu.edu

Alternate Contacts
Maria Alamo, Program Coordinator for Recruitment
718-430-2128
malamo@aecom.yu.edu

John Chan, M.D., Associate Director, Medical Scientist Training Program
vfreedma@aecom.yu.edu
URM in Training Program: 18 of 129 (14 percent)
URM in Most Recent MSTP Entering Class: 2 of 16 (13 percent)
Recent Trends: The most impressive trend concerns the number of URM students successfully completing the Albert Einstein College of Medicine MSTP program and graduating with M.D.-Ph.D. degrees. From 1994-1998, four URM students graduated. From 1999-2003, seven students earned M.D.-Ph.D. degrees, and between 2004-2008, 11 students graduated with M.D.-Ph.D. degrees. Four more students are scheduled to graduate in 2009. Thus, the number of minority students graduating from the MSTP has been steadily increasing over the past 15 years. This has been accompanied by an increase in the admission of URM students into the MSTP.
Most Successful Strategies for
Recruitment and Retention
:
  • Individualized attention during the recruitment process and ongoing individual interactions with program staff to ensure that students are successfully progressing through the program.
  • Consistent presence of MSTP Program students and faculty representatives at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) national conference, and the California Diversity Forum.
  • Aggressive recruiting both locally and nationally with targeted recruiting visits by faculty, students, and MSTP alumni to individual campuses with high minority enrollment.
  • Minority Student Summer Undergraduate Research Program at Einstein exposes students to Einstein before they begin the graduate application process. Increases national exposure of the College in the undergraduate community as an institution with a supportive environment for minority students.
  • De-emphasis of standardized test scores in admissions decisions.
  • Strong involvement of current students in recruitment process.
  • Individualized curriculum, availability of tutoring, and regularly scheduled personalized academic advising, particularly in the first year but ongoing throughout the program.
  • Institutional support from the Office for Diversity Enhancement with academic counseling, an annual minority student retreat, and other events to create a sense of community amongst the minority students in all Einstein programs including the M.D., Ph.D., and M.D.-Ph.D. programs.
  • "Critical Mass" that enables formation of active Einstein chapters of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and the National Boricua Latino Health Organization (NBLHO).
Comments:

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine has had a long-term commitment to creating a supportive environment for a diverse student body. Students are recruited directly into the Medical Scientist Training Program.


Training Program: Training in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Genetics (CMBG)
Institution: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Program Director: Margaret Kielian, Ph.D.
718-430-3638
kielian@aecom.yu.edu

Alternate Contacts
Anne Etgen, Ph.D., Coordinator of Minority Recruitment
etgen@aecom.yu.edu

Victoria Freedman, Ph.D., Director, Sue Golding Graduate Division
vfreedma@aecom.yu.edu
URM in Training Program:

Students matriculated into the Sue Golding Graduate Division, entering in the summer (M.D.-Ph.D.) and fall (Ph.D.) of 2007. The Ph.D. candidates include M.D.-Ph.D. students in the Ph.D. phase of their training.

URM in Ph.D. Umbrella Program (Sue Golding Graduate Division): 59 of 346 (17 percent)
URM in CMBG Training Program: 7 of 18 (39 percent)
URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class: 9 of 52 (17 percent)
Recent Trends: The most impressive trends concern the number of URM students graduating with advanced degrees. In the 5-year period prior to 1998, seven URM students graduated with Ph.D. degrees and three URM students earned M.D.-Ph.D. degrees. In the next 5-year period 1998-2002, there was a dramatic increase to 22 URM students graduating with Ph.D. degrees and six students earning M.D.-Ph.D. degrees. The number of URM graduates continues to increase steadily. From 2003-2007, there were 31 URM students who graduated with Ph.D. degrees (29 percent increase) and 9 students with M.D.-Ph.D. degrees (33 percent increase). In addition, there has been a surge in minority student Ph.D. applications to the highest level ever attained (52 training grant-eligible minority applicants, 9 of whom matriculated in the fall of 2007).
Most Successful Strategies for
Recruitment and Retention
:
  • Aggressive recruiting both locally and nationally.
  • Involvement of faculty and students in recruitment and orientation activities.
  • Consistent presence at ABRCMS, SACNAS, and the California Diversity Forum.
  • Targeted recruiting visits by faculty and student alumni to individual campuses with high minority enrollment.
  • De-emphasis of standardized test scores in admissions decisions.
  • Individualized curriculum and regularly scheduled personalized academic advising in first year.
  • "Critical Mass" that enables formation of an active minority graduate student organization.
Comments:

Students are recruited into the umbrella graduate program of the Sue Golding Graduate School or into the Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D.-Ph.D.). The total enrollment numbers reported above include students in both programs. After the first (Ph.D. students) or second (M.D.-Ph.D. students) year, trainees are selected for the CMBG training grant program.


Training Program: Training Program in Quantitative Biology and Physiology (QBP)
Institution: Boston University
Program Director:

Ed Damiano, Ph.D.
617-353-9493
edamiano@bu.edu

Alternate Contacts
Joyce Wong, Ph.D., Associate Chair, Graduate Studies
617-353-2374
jywong@bu.edu

Rene Smith, Academic Programs Manager
617-353-7609
smithr@bu.edu

URM in Biomedical Engineering Program:

Students matriculate into the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) in the fall. The Ph.D. candidates include M.D.-Ph.D. students in the Ph.D. phase of their training. Students from the first-year BME class are nominated and selected to join the QBP program.

URM in QBP Program: 4 of 27 (15 percent)
URM in Most Recent BME Entering Class: 1 of 7 (14 percent) enrolled for fall semester
Recent Trends:

URM candidates have expressed an increased interest in the themes of the Quantitative Biology and Physiology (QBP) Program. Recruitment continues to be successful at approximately one new URM per year.

Most Successful
Strategies for
Recruitment and
Retention
:
  • BME aggressively communicates and invites qualified URM applicants to visit Boston University (BU) and to meet separately with other URM in the BME and QBP program during their visit, in addition to any other group itinerary that may be planned.
  • BME works with BU organizations such as the Minority Engineers Society, Society of Hispanic Engineers, and Society of Women Engineers to recruit at career/graduate school fairs at several national conferences, including the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and National Women of Color in Science and Technology.
  • BME participates in the Excellence Through Diversity Program sponsored by the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE). NEBHE hosts a Science Network Conference annually that addresses the unique needs and concerns of secondary, undergraduate, and graduate students living in New England who are underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
  • BU participates in the Northeastern Alliance, which encourages the exchange of students among participating institutions on the East Coast.
  • Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF), sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education, are offered to promote access to graduate education, especially among underrepresented minority undergraduates. These fellowships are open to BU and non-BU students in support of research projects supervised by Boston University faculty in engineering, math, computer science, biology, chemistry, and physics. We target those students who are enrolled in the program by having training grant faculty give presentations in their ongoing seminar series.


Training Program: Postdoctoral Training Program in Clinical Pharmacology
Institution: Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University
Program Director:

Scott A. Waldman, M.D., Ph.D.
215-955-6086
scott.waldma@jefferson.edu

Alternate Contacts
Walter K. Kraft, M.D., Associate Program Director
215-955-9077
walter.kraft@jefferson.edu

Roslynn Tate, Administrative Assistant
215-955-9081
roslynn.tate@jefferson.edu

URM in Training Program:

5 of 22 (23 percent)

URM in Most Recent Entering Class: 1 of 2 (50 percent)
Recent Trends:

The number of URM applicants has increased approximately 4-fold in the period covering 2005-2008 compared to 2001-2004.

Most Successful
Strategies for
Recruitment and
Retention
:
  • Advertisement for fellowship positions in high impact factor general medical journals has been more effective in increasing the number of high quality applicants than more specialized publications.
  • Focused networking with academic, industry, and regulatory colleagues involved in drug development science has led to word-of-mouth contacts with qualified applicants.
  • Rapid follow-up by a program director or associate program director to inquiries generated by Web site traffic has established an early, personal relationship with potential trainees.
  • Educational interactions with physicians-in-training at local clinical residency programs, as well as with members of our K30 Program in Human Investigation has established personal contact with potential trainees.
  • Coordination with our university Office of Minority Affairs has been helpful in disseminating our program materials to students at institutions that we otherwise would have difficulty reaching due to distance from our Medical Center.
  • Letters are sent on an annual basis to residency directors at clinical training programs associated with traditional minority medical schools in the United States.


Training Program: Graduate Training Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Program Director: Pierre A. Coulombe, Ph.D.
410-614-0510
coulombe@jhmi.edu
URM in Training Program: 34 of 126 (29 percent)
URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class: 5 of 17 (30 percent) incoming students fall 2008
Recent Trends: For the past 2 years, we have seen a 7 percent increase in underrepresented minority (URM) students who matriculated into our program. In 2006, 25 percent of our first year class (6/24) and in 2007, 32 percent of our first year class (7/16) belonged to a URM group. We have also seen a steady increase in the number of URM students applying in 2006, 2007, and 2008 – URM students now represent ~17 percent of our applicant pool.
Most Successful
Strategies for
Recruitment and
Retention
:

Program faculty and staff meet URM students at national science fairs (e.g., ABRCMS, SACNAS), Johns Hopkins (e.g., summer programs, science fairs), and other venues. We nurture these relationships over time, for instance, via regular greetings through e-mail. Our goal is to entice talented URM students to apply to join our program at our institution. We make every effort to reward their application with an invitation to interview. When they visit, our faculty and especially our students are our best ambassadors; they are directly involved in the program’s recruiting efforts each year. The diversity prevailing in our student body, and in particular, the good representation of students from URM backgrounds, really help convey that this issue is of key importance to us.

The decision to extend an offer to a prospective student, URM or not, is related by a personal phone call from either the program director or admissions director. Subsequently, we assign both students and faculty to contact those whom we have made offers of admission. In our experience, this personal touch is important.

Our curriculum attracts applicants, including M.D.-Ph.D. students, because of its relevance to human disease. Our students are presented with the challenges of performing dissections on cadavers and interacting with patients in two of our signature courses. These hands on, real time experiences afford students a unique opportunity to gain valuable insight into the fragility of the human body and reflection on the daily struggle a patient faces when afflicted with a disease. Such medically-relevant experiences resonate very well with URM students.

Future strategies:

Our admissions director, Dr. M. Christine Zink, has sought new avenues to encourage URM students to seek careers in the sciences. We are attempting to influence the students in the pipeline--high school and community college students. To that end, we recently hosted a large group of students from North Carolina A&T Middle College High School in April 2008. Our presentation included campus tours, lab tours, and a faculty/student panel discussing what graduate programs look for during the admissions process (i.e. classes taken, research experiences inside and outside their undergraduate institution, GRE scores, etc.). We plan on building on this very positive experience.

We also are considering making our Web site interactive (e.g., through a blog) to create a forum where students from the outside would have an opportunity to query our faculty and student bodies for the science-loving and diversity-promoting ambiance that prevails at our institution.


Training Program: Medical Scientist Training Program
Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Program Director: Robert F. Siliciano, M.D., Ph.D.
410-955-2958
rsiliciano@jhmi.edu
URM in Training Program: 27 of 99 (27 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class: 2 of 9 (22 percent) August 2008
Recent Trends:

Between 2003-2007, we had a total of 20 students matriculate to the Johns Hopkins Program. Hopkins and the Medical Scientist Training Program have made diversity recruiting a primary focus, realizing the breadth that these individuals bring to our program and institution.

2003: 6 of 16 (38 percent)
2004: 5 of 12 (42 percent)
2005: 3 of 10 (30 percent)
2006: 2 of 16 (13 percent)
2007: 4 of 13 (31 percent)

Most Successful
Strategies for
Recruitment and
Retention
:
  • Faculty/administrator/student attendance at annual national recruiting conferences. Making sure the students attending the conferences know they are free to contact the program office with any questions or concerns regarding the Hopkins application process or just to answer any questions or clarify any concerns.
  • Annual Welcome Back Weekend for all URM students accepted to Hopkins. This is an excellent opportunity to meet students currently attending Hopkins medical and graduate schools who candidly share their academic and cultural experience at Hopkins.
  • Having current students of the Hopkins MSTP involved with program admissions/recruitment process – assisting as tour guides, housing hosts, attending lunches and dinners with the applicants.
  • Financial support from Vice Dean for Education to help support students from diverse backgrounds.
  • Faculty supporting and encouraging students to apply for individual F31 fellowships. Currently, we have four URM students with their own F31 support.
  • Visiting University of Maryland, Baltimore County regularly during the year to speak with MARC and Meyerhoff students who are interested in the combined degree and offering them the opportunity to visit Hopkins before applying and to speak with current students in the program.


Training Program: Predoctoral Training Program in Human Genetics
Institution: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Program Director: David Valle, M.D.
410-955-4260
dvalle@jhmi.edu
URM in Training Program: 10 of 66 (15 percent)

URM in Most Recent
Entering Class:

4 of 17 (24 percent)
Recent Trends:

After experiencing a number of years without recruiting any URM graduate students, the Predoctoral Training Program in Human Genetics at Johns Hopkins has enrolled 11 in the last 4 years.

Most Successful Strategies for
Recruitment and Retention
:
  • One-on-one recruiting of URM applicants by current students.
  • A minority summer internship program that draws from a national pool.
  • Faculty visits to predominantly minority institutions and attendance at national minority student meetings.
  • Work-study arrangements that allow undergraduates at local HBCUs to work in research laboratories at Johns Hopkins.
  • A partnership with an inner city science magnet school that provides research experiences for URM high school students.


Training Program: Integrated Training in Pharmacological Sciences
Institution: Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Program Director:

Terry Ann Krulwich, Ph.D.
212-241-7280
terry.krulwich@mssm.edu

Alternate Contact
John Morrison, Ph.D., Dean, Graduate School of Biological Sciences
john.morrison@mssm.edu

URM in Training Program: 2 of 7 (28 percent)
URM in Umbrella Program Graduate School of Biological Sciences: 22 of 232 (9 percent)
URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class: 5 of 46 (11 percent)
Recent Trends:

An important trend is the large overall growth in the number of first-year predoctoral students who associate with the specific activities, courses, and faculty of this training program. This group is the pool for appointments to traineeships and currently includes six training grant eligible URM students who have not yet been trainees. Another gratifying trend is that all the trainees in this program have completed or are on track to complete Ph.D. degrees.

Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:
  • The efforts of a newly designated Associate Dean for Diversity and a Committee on Outreach, Recruitment, and Retention are favorably impacting URM retention in our umbrella program and are expected to increase recruitment as well, and hence the pool for this program.
  • Mount Sinai PREP (Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program) is a major source of URM applicants to the graduate school as a whole and will specifically impact this program over the next few years.
  • The disease and drugs focus of our program and the inclusion of systems biology related to pharmacological sciences are attracting more students with computational, bioengineering, and chemistry backgrounds.
  • Mount Sinai’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program is a long-standing effective recruitment tool and the Summer Undergraduate and Outreach Programs of the Systems Biology Center New York are new programs that are positively impacting the visibility of this program in undergraduate schools with high URM enrollments.
  • The umbrella program has a consistent presence at ABRCMS and SACNAS and, in addition, makes visits to selected undergraduate schools.
Comments:

Students are recruited to the predoctoral programs of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences and are appointed to traineeships after: (i) demonstrating an interest in course-work and specific activities, e.g. "Pharm Forum", of this program; and (ii) developing a research interest related to topics such as identification of therapeutics, identification of targets of therapeutics, studies that provide insights into drug reactions and related pharmacogenetics.


Training Program: Cellular and Molecular Basis of Disease Training Program
Institution: Northwestern University
Program Director: Robert Holmgren, Ph.D.
847-491-5460
r-holmgren@northwestern.edu
URM in Training Program:

3 of 17 (18 percent) URM supported by training grant
4 of 20 (20 percent) URM supported or associated with training grant program

URM in Most Recent Entering Class:

13 of 54 (19 percent) URM/TGE in incoming class

Recent Trends:

Matriculation of training grant eligible students

2004: 7 of 64 (11 percent)
2005: 12 of 90 (13 percent)
2006: 11 of 60 (18 percent)
2007: 12 of 61 (20 percent)
*2008: 13 of 54 (24 percent)
(* anticipated matriculates)

Most Successful Strategies for
Recruitment and Retention
:

Preceptors and members of the CMBD steering committee are active participants in the Science and Engineering Committee on Multicultural Affairs (SECMA). This group coordinates the recruitment and retention of URM graduate students in the sciences and engineering. By having a joint committee, training grants and graduate programs can share best practices. The committee runs the Summer Research Opportunity Program for URM undergraduates, provides materials and staff support for faculty visits to minority serving institutions, organizes Northwestern University’s participation in URM research conferences, and sponsors workshops and a retreat for URM graduate students at which the various components of a successful graduate career are presented and discussed.

Several preceptors on the CMBD training grant are Alliance for Graduate Education in the Professoriate professors. These faculty play an active role in mentoring incoming URM graduate students and are there to provide advice to URM students throughout their graduate careers.

Northwestern University has a Bridge program with Chicago State University, which brings Life Sciences Master's students from Chicago State to Northwestern to work in research laboratories and take graduate classes. Following the successful completion of this program, these students are brought into either the IBIS, NUIN, or IGP Ph.D. program at Northwestern and are actively considered for appointment to the CMBD training grant.

The former director of SECMA, Margarita Dubocovich, has obtained an NIGMS Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity grant to establish the Collaborative Learning and Integrated Mentoring in the Biosciences (CLIMB) program. The goal of this program is to identify URM students with potential who are at risk of having difficulty with the transition to graduate studies. This program provides them with a tailored first year program and mentoring. CMBD director, Robert Holmgren, is chair of the advisory committee for this initiative. We will be considering the first class of CLIMB students for appointment to the CMBD training grant this fall.


Training Program: Predoctoral Training in Genetics and Molecular Biology
Institution: Princeton University
Program Director: Bonnie Bassler, Ph.D.
609-258-2857
bbassler@molbio.princeton.edu
URM in Training Program: 12 of 146 (8 percent)
URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class: 7 of 24 (29 percent)
Recent Trends:

The enrollment of URM graduate students by the Molecular Biology Department at Princeton improved from an average of only one per year from 2003 through 2007 to seven in 2008.

Most Successful Strategies for
Recruitment and Retention
:
  • URM representation in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program has been increased to 65 percent. Participants receive mentoring and are offered financial support to attend ABRCMS.
  • Molecular Biology Department faculty and students have made outreach visits of two to three days to historically Black colleges and faculty and students from those institutions have been hosted for extended periods during the summer at Princeton. Collaborations involving both research and teaching have resulted from these interactions.
  • Departmental faculty and students have attended science-oriented diversity meetings, including SACNAS and ABRCMS.
  • Increased emphasis has been placed on applicants’ research experience and letters of recommendation. Departmental staff maintains contact with URM applicants throughout the admissions process.
  • Two Ph.D. scientists have been appointed to direct diversity efforts for the Molecular Biology Department and over $400,000 has been allocated annually to support diversity activities.


Training Program: Genetics and Cell Biology
Institution: The Rockefeller University
Program Director: Sidney Strickland, Ph.D.
212-327-8705
strickland@rockefeller.edu
URM in Training Program: 4 of 10 (40 percent)
URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class:

1 of 18 (12 percent) for the 2007 training grant eligible pool
4 of 18 (22 percent) for the 2008 training grant eligible pool

Recent Trends:

Since the Genetics and Cell Biology training program began in 2004, the percentage of URM students in the training program has increased from 25 percent to 40 percent.

Most Successful Strategies for
Recruitment and Retention
:
  • Annual attendance at research conferences for minority students, including SACNAS and ABRCMS.
  • Targeted visits to colleges and universities with high minority enrollment (including Howard University; Morehouse College; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and Rio Piedras; and Xavier University).
  • Recruiting URM students into our summer undergraduate research programs.
  • Placing less emphasis on scores (GREs, GPA), and more emphasis on research background and letters of recommendation from research advisors helps the program to get URM students who do very well; this results in an acceptance rate for URM applicants that is twice that for non-URM.
  • Building connections with local minority groups, including The New York City Minority Graduate Student Network.


Training Program: Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Program
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Program Director:

Steven G. Clarke, Ph.D.
310-825-8754
clarke@mbi.ucla.edu

Alternate Contact
Sabeeha Merchant, Ph.D., Associate Program Director
310-825-8300
merchant@chem.ucla.edu

URM in Training Program:

7 of 37 (19 percent) – four trainees plus three students participating fully in the program but funded through individual Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards

URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class:

2 of 16 (13 percent) trainees

Recent Trends:

Composition of Entering Classes, 1998-2007

1998: 1 of 8 (6 percent)
1999: 1 of 9 (6 percent)
2000: 3 of 18 (14 percent)
2001: 1 of 10 (14 percent)
2002: 4 of 40 (23 percent)
2003: 4 of 27 (26 percent)
2004: 2 of 17 (29 percent)
2005: 4 of 31 (25 percent)
2006: 2 of 17 (19 percent)
2007: 2 of 13 (19 percent)

Most Successful
Strategies for
Recruitment
and Retention
:
  • Received supplemental funding from the UCLA Graduate Division for our ongoing efforts to recruit minority students to the program. These funds are used to attract URM students to participate in our programs without being a formally appointed trainee (these students are generally supported by individual NRSA awards). These students help create a welcoming environment in our training classes and seminars and enhance our diversity. We can offer these students travel funds to attend meetings and conferences where they will have to present a poster or give a talk, as well as funds to buy books and/or office supplies to help with their research.
  • Expanded outreach programs to provide research opportunities for undergraduates at UCLA and elsewhere, including campuses of the California State University system and the community college system. These programs, including major programs funded by Bridges to the Future awards and MARC grants, have had a multitude of beneficial effects:
    • made students aware of the wide array of biomedical research at UCLA;
    • kept students on a research track by allowing them to work as apprentice scientists rather than in more typical undergraduate jobs; and,
    • provided a "minority-friendly" environment where students to be recruited could see the number of students from URM groups already working in the research laboratories.
  • Encouraged "minority-friendly" environments in the participating research laboratories by encouraging trainees to mentor URM undergraduates in their own research projects. We ask each of our trainees to recruit and mentor undergraduates in their laboratories for at least one summer or academic year.
  • Partly as a result of these programs and partly due to the number of UCLA graduates now serving on the faculties of these feeder schools, developed closer relationships with UCLA "feeder" schools, including the community colleges Pierce College and Santa Monica College, and California State University, Los Angeles. Students at these campuses and their faculties have become more familiar with UCLA, and the result has been a dramatic upturn of interest in graduate studies.
Comments:

Students are recruited into the UCLA umbrella ACCESS program. Trainees for the CMB program are selected from the ACCESS pool after their first year. It is apparent that programs designed to interest minority students in research careers, particularly the MBRS and MARC programs, are bearing fruit.


Training Program: Chemistry and Chemical Biology Graduate Program (CCB)
Institution: University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
Program Director: Charles Craik, Ph.D.
415-476-8146
craik@cgl.ucsf.edu
URM in Training Program:

9 of 50 (18 percent) in class of 2007-2008
11 of 50 (22 percent) in 2008 incoming class

URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class: 2 of 11 (18 percent)
Recent Trends:

2003: 2 of 9 (22 percent) – 14 minority applicants
2004: 1 of 8 (12 percent) – 7 minority applicants
2005: 2 of 9 (22 percent) – 10 minority applicants
2006: 2 of 6 (33 percent) – 10 minority applicants
2007: 2 of 11 (18 percent) – 5 minority applicants

Most Successful
Strategies for
Recruitment
and Retention
:
  • In evaluating minority applicants in our interview/admissions process,
    we look at all elements of the application with a lesser emphasis on GPA
    and GRE scores.
  • Direct solicitation of students and summer research interns from faculty colleagues in the University of California Leads and Summer Research Training Program.
  • Faculty and student representation at SACNAS and ABRCMS meetings.
  • Service on UCSF Diversity Committee.
  • Participation in the NSF-sponsored Health Sciences Research Colloquium.
  • Mailings and faculty visits to institutions with significant minority enrollments.
  • Training grant is used as a recruiting inducement for minority students.
Comments:

Minority students find chemistry training especially appealing because of the strong job prospects. Service on the organizing committee for the Summer Research Training Program gives the program director a special opportunity to become familiar with a large number of prospective minority students. On recruiting trips to minority institutions, science should be discussed with the students. It is important to focus on finding measures to improve the retention of minority students and looking for ways to provide tutoring and mentoring without having the students feel stigmatized. Success only comes through much effort on many activities, and that success builds upon itself. It is important to have a self-evaluation process of the program by having focus groups consisting of underrepresented students and key supportive faculty to get issues discussed in depth. This serves to heighten the sensitivity of the educators and provides a forum for the students to voice their opinions and concerns.


Training Program: Medical Scientist Training Program
Institution: University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus
Program Director: Arthur Gutierrez-Hartmann, M.D.
303-724-4600
mstp@uchsc.edu
URM in Training Program: 12 of 55 (22 percent) as of fall 2008 (includes one first-time college URM)
URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class: 3 of 8 (37 percent) as of fall 2008 (includes one first-time college URM)
Recent Trends:

The URM recruitment has steadily increased over the past 5 years, due to the implementation of energetic recruitment and retention plans. These efforts have resulted in high URM matriculation rates, with an average of about 75 percent of URMs offered a position matriculating into our Medical Scientist Training Program.

Most Successful
Strategies for
Recruitment
and Retention
:
  • Program-specific recruitment trips by MSTP directors, training faculty, and URM students to URM-specific research meetings, such as SACNAS and ABRCMS.
  • We bring a current URM students to these conferences to help recruit potential students. Current students are the best recruiters.
  • We started a Women in Medical Science Seminar (current female students organize these events and they are very popular).
  • We specifically target schools with NIGMS MARC/MBRS Programs, focusing in the Southwest, such that recruited students will be relatively close to family.
  • Active, program-specific recruitment trips by MSTP directors, training faculty, and URM students to colleges and universities.
  • Partnering with undergraduate pre-medical advisors who have previously sent us URM students.
  • Identification of URM applicants to medical school who have research experience and recruitment of URM students currently in first two years of medical school.
  • Identification and nurturing of URM students at early stages of their undergraduate career by mentoring URM students in various local URM summer research programs, such as McNair Scholars at CSU, SMART students at CU-Boulder, and ARCS and GEMS students at UCHSC.


Training Program: Graduate Training in Systems and Integrative Biology
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Program Director:

Michael P. Nusbaum, Ph.D.
215-898-1585
nusbaum@mail.med.upenn.edu

Alternate Contact
Rita Balice-Gordon, Ph.D., Co-director
215-898-1037
rbaliceg@mail.med.upenn.edu

URM in SIB Training Program:

3 of 11 (27 percent)

URM in Neuroscience Graduate Group:

11 of 95 (12 percent)

URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class:

2 of 18 (11 percent)

Recent Trends:

URM on T32:
2004: 2 of 11 (18 percent)
2005: 3 of 11 (27 percent)
2006: 3 of 11 (27 percent)
2007: 3 of 11 (27 percent)
2008: 2 of 11 (18 percent)

URM in Incoming Class:
2004: 4 of 25 (16 percent)
2005: 2 of 14 (14 percent)
2006: 2 of 23 (9 percent)
2007: 1 of 16 (6 percent)
2008: 2 of 18 (11 percent)

Most Successful
Strategies for
Recruitment
and Retention
:

Recruitment
Faculty and student participation in URM-focused pre-doctoral teaching and training programs at University of Pennsylvania:

Neuroscience Graduate Group Representation at National URM Meetings (e.g. ABRCMS, COR Colloquium, SACNAS).

Retention
All Neuroscience Graduate Group (NGG) students receive regular, comprehensive, individual oversight on a regular basis for the duration of their time in the program (http://www.med.upenn.edu/ins/ngg.html). There is a multi-layered oversight system, including regular formalized meetings and review by the NGG Academic Review Committee, yearly or twice-yearly meetings with the student’s thesis committee, and daily access to the NGG chair and administrative assistants.


Training Program: Mechanisms of Drug Action and Disposition
Institution: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Program Director:

David J. Mangelsdorf, Ph.D.
214-645-6129
Davo.Mango@UTSouthwestern.edu

URM in Training Program:

3 of 11 (27 percent) fall 2007

URM among all Trainees at UTSWMC:

49 of 326 (15 percent) fall 2007 training grant eligible students

URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class:

12 of 42 (28 percent) fall 2007 incoming training grant eligible students

Recent Trends:

Percent of entering U.S. students that were URM (Number of URM/total number of U.S. students):

2003: 5 of 58 (9 percent)
2004: 16 of 57 (23 percent)
2005: 7 of 51 (14 percent)
2006: 16 or 57 (28 percent)
2007: 12 of 42 (28 percent)
2008: Will matriculate 12 of 52 (23 percent)

Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:

Centralized Recruitment and Admissions
Recruitment and admissions to UT Southwestern is through an umbrella program under the Division of Basic Sciences. Students complete a first year core curriculum, rotations, etc., then select one of eight tracks in their second year. Students are appointed to the training grant in their second and third years and may in principle be drawn from any of the tracks fed by the entire umbrella program. The majority, however, come from a cell regulation track led by Paul Sternweis, who is active in recruitment processes of the umbrella program. Most special emphasis activities directed at URM recruitment are centralized through the DBS and led by Associate Dean Dr. Nancy Street, Assistant Dean Dr. Stuart Ravnik, and SGS Recruiter Lisa Gardner. These activities include: i) attendance at ABRCMS, SACNAS, and other national meetings; ii) visits to over 30 undergraduate schools with significant minority enrollments; iii) invitations from faculty at minority schools to an annual meeting at UT; iv) developing relationships with MARC program directors; v) frequent individual and personal contact with faculty, prospective students, and enrolled students to be sure they are progressing in their studies.

Summer Undergraduate Research (SURF) and Quantitative and Physical Sciences SURF (QP-SURF)
These programs provide summer research experiences at UT Southwestern for undergraduates from non-research intensive institutions. Approximately 40 percent of offers to students to participate were made to minority students and 23 percent of actual 2007 participants were from URM groups. Somewhat lower numbers, 25 percent of the offers and 20 percent of the participants, in QP-SURF were URM students. Agreements with eight universities, including Grambling, Howard, Mount St. Mary’s, New Mexico State, San Angelo State, University of Arizona, UT-El Paso, and UT-Pan American, guarantee spots in the SURF and QP-SURF program for their best and brightest minority students. Graduates from the SURF and QP-SURF program are heavily recruited by both UTSWMC and other research intensive institutions.

Science Teachers Access to Resources at Southwestern (STARS) Program
This program provides a range of educational and research opportunities to high school science teachers in the largely minority-populated Dallas and Ft. Worth public school systems. Dr. Joel Goodman, a member of the Pharmacological Sciences Training program, and Dr. Stuart Ravnik, are leaders of this program. A recent effort is establishing a charter school that will focus on biomedical sciences and will provide additional opportunities for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and students to be involved in outreach efforts. The student population at this school is projected to be approximately 70 percent URM.

Enhanced Orientation and Tutoring Program
A two-day enhanced orientation program is provided for students who may have a weaker than average background to facilitate their social and academic adjustment to UTSWMC. Activities include: lecture topic review, introduction to problem-set and discussion-group learning environments, introduction to critique and discussion of peer-reviewed journal articles, overview of successful study skills, orientation to computer and MP3 usage at UTSWMC, and introduction to core course tutors. All enhanced orientation participants are placed in tutored study groups that meet beginning in the first week of the core course. This program is directed by Dr. Nancy Street and by Dr. Leon Avery, director for the Core Course.


Training Program: Biotechnology Training Program (BTP)
Institution: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Program Director:

Brian G. Fox, Ph.D.
608-262-6753
biotech@bact.wisc.edu

URM in Training Program:

7 of 33 (21 percent)

URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class:

2008: 2 of 9 (22 percent) (with four deferring support)

Recent Trends:

2005: 9 of 31 (29 percent) (all on BTP T32 funds)
2006: 10 of 33 (30 percent) (includes three not on BTP T32 funds)
2007: 7 of 33 (21 percent) (includes three not on BTP T32 funds)

Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention: Recruitment
  • Visits to our campus by high school and undergraduate feeder programs to establish pipeline connections.
  • Faculty and trainees attend annual minority research symposia to promote the campus, training program and degree opportunities, and to make personal contacts.
  • Faculty and alumni trainees visit minority institutions to make new contacts or reconnect with past mentors.
  • In evaluating trainee candidates as prospective students, we are not overly concerned with GPA and/or GRE scores if other indicators are positive. Taking some risks, even if it requires admitting the student under academic probation.
  • Commitment to help all students (minority and majority) succeed.
  • Maximize direct contact between candidates and program faculty during recruiting and all stages of the graduate career. Minority candidates can require more intensive advising for course selection, thesis lab choice, tutoring (especially if English is not familiar-Puerto Rico), etc.
  • Maximize contact between minority candidates and current minority trainees/students during recruiting and early stages of the graduate career. This helps establish social and professional networks.
  • Plan activities that promote a friendly, interactive and supportive atmosphere in the training program, such as a social gathering in conjunction with a weekly seminar series.
  • Link training grant programmatic and recruiting activities as a way to have prospective students interact with current trainees (Biotechnology banquet, retreat, faculty contacts).
  • Invite faculty from minority institutions to be visiting professors (e.g., for summer research, sabbatical leaves) as a way to network with mentors of future trainees. Visiting professorships for minority faculty can be funded by minority supplements to existing NIH R01 grants.
  • Show a commitment to trainees by offering long-term support packages to incoming students; if possible couple T32 positions with campus support programs for URMs.
  • Maintain strong collegial and professional ties with alumni who are now faculty at colleges with high URM enrollment.
  • Look at strategies of others for ideas, but only adopt those which you think will work in the culture of your institution or program.
  • Be prepared for a bumpy ride, some years are better than others despite all your best efforts!!
  • Be prepared to evaluate and modify your plan on a periodic or regular basis; this landscape is constantly changing.

Best Practices for Enhancing Minority Progress in Programs and Retention
  • Access to tutors (supported by campus/local Ph.D. program)
  • Partners for success (campus/Ph.D. program)
  • Progress tracking (program/training grant)
  • Weekly or periodic trainee or URM gatherings (graining grant/campus)


Training Program:

Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D. Program (MSTP)

Institution: Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Program Director:

Olaf S. Andersen, M.D.
212-746-6023
sparre@med.cornell.edu

URM in Training Program:

28 of 110 (25 percent)

URM in Most Recent Graduate Division Entering Class: 3 of 12 (25 percent)
Recent Trends:

In 1996, only 10 percent of the M.D.-Ph.D. program was made up of URM students. Within 5 years, we saw a 50 percent increase in the number of URM students in our program. In 2008, over 25 percent of the M.D.-Ph.D. program students are URMs.

Over the last 5 years, the number of qualified underrepresented minority applicants who applied to our M.D.-Ph.D. Program has tripled. Our incoming M.D.-Ph.D. classes have seen students from underrepresented backgrounds make up anywhere from 14 percent to 36 percent of their individual M.D.-Ph.D. class.

Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:

The most notable difference in our recruitment over the years is that we have created our own pipeline. The Gateways to the Laboratory Program is an intense 10-week summer program run by the M.D.-Ph.D. program. Its goal is to train promising freshman and sophomore college students to become competitive applicants to M.D.-Ph.D. programs. We have seen enormous success as many of our Gateways alumni are now in our own M.D.-Ph.D. Program, as well as many of the other top M.D.-Ph.D. programs in the country.

Its distinguishing features are:

  • Designed to train and inform students interested in dual degree, M.D./Ph.D., programs.
  • Students present in weekly journal clubs.
  • Participate in hands-on tour of gross anatomy lab.
  • Participate in a lab techniques workshop and clinical skills workshop.
  • Sit for a mock MCAT exam.
  • Participate in career development workshops.
  • Scrub into surgeries at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
  • Present an oral, written and poster presentation in front of family, friends and colleagues.
    (The program will fly one family member to NYC for this final presentation and provide accommodations at a hotel in New York City.)
  • Each student has an ongoing mentorship with a “Big Sib,” who is a current MSTP student and weekly meetings with the program’s leadership.
  • The program pays each student $4,300 as well as travel expenses and houses the students in local dorms.

We recruit heavily at national conferences including SACNAS, ABRCMS, and Leadership Alliance, as well as individual colleges and universities. We now have a critical mass of URM students in our program, which helps with future recruitment. We also educate undergraduate health advisors about the importance of encouraging URMs to apply to M.D.-Ph.D. programs.

Finally, we invest considerable resources into the mentoring of URM students in the program, to help them cope with the difficulties they encounter during their training.

This page last updated December 11, 2008