Addressing the Need for More Minority Scientists
NIGMS has a long-standing commitment to increasing the number and capabilities of underrepresented minorities engaged in biomedical research. The focal point for this effort, the Division of Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE), seeks to enhance the science curricula and faculty research at institutions with substantial minority enrollments and to encourage minority students to train for scientific careers. Support is available at the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty levels.

The underrepresented minorities targeted by MORE include African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans (including Alaska Natives), and natives of the U. S. Pacific Islands. For more information about the MORE Division and its programs, see http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Minority/.

The MORE Division has three components: the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Branch, the Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Branch, and a section that handles special initiatives.

Minority Biomedical Research Support Branch
MBRS awards grants to minority-serving institutions through three programs: Support of Continuous Research Excellence (SCORE), Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE), and the Initiative for Minority Student Development (IMSD).

The SCORE Program aims to assist the faculty at minority-serving institutions to develop competitive research programs. It supports faculty research projects that span the full range of topics supported by the various institutes of NIH. The RISE Program seeks to enhance the research environment at minority-serving institutions by funding activities such as attendance at scientific workshops and meetings, course development, and participation in research. The IMSD enables research-intensive universities to develop innovative programs that educate and train minority students in the biomedical sciences. At the time of this writing, nearly 700 faculty members, more than 1,000 undergraduates, and more than 750 graduate students at over 100 institutions were participating in MBRS research projects.

Minority Access to Research Careers Branch
MARC supports special research training opportunities for students and faculty at 4-year, minority-serving institutions. The goal is to strengthen the training programs at these schools so they can prepare students for doctoral programs and careers in biomedical research.

MARC accomplishes these goals through Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (U* STAR) institutional grants, predoctoral fellowships, faculty fellowships, a visiting scientist program, and other training activities.

Currently, MARC supports nearly 650 undergraduates at over 60 institutions, 45 MARC predoctoral fellows, more than 70 predoctoral fellows in an NIH-wide program, and 2 faculty fellows.

Special Initiatives
MORE supports several special initiatives that strive to develop new approaches for the recruitment and retention of minority biomedical scientists. One such activity is the Bridges to the Future Program, which is co-sponsored by NIGMS and the NIH National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. This program assists students in associate's or master's degree programs to make the transition to the next level of training (the bachelor's or Ph. D. degree). The Bridges Program currently supports over 1,000 students at more than 400 institutions.

The division also supports the MORE Faculty Development Award. This award enables faculty members at minority-serving institutions to update or enhance their research skills by working full-time for several months each year in a laboratory at a research-intensive university.

Another program, called the Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award, provides postdoctoral researchers from research-intensive universities the opportunity to teach at minority-serving institutions. The goal is to motivate the next generation of minority scientists and to promote partnerships between research universities and minority-serving institutions.

NIGMS also collaborates with the Indian Health Service to link the Native American community with organizations that conduct health research. The program, called Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH), encourages research on diseases relevant to American Indians and Alaska Natives, and seeks to develop a cadre of Native American scientists and health professionals who are able to compete successfully for NIH funding.

I call it the G. I. Joe bug," says Leticia Márquez-Magaña, an MBRS researcher at San Francisco State University, referring to the bacterium she studies. When its food runs out, the normally sedentary bug, a common soil bacterium called Bacillus subtilis, goes into high gear. It squirts out bucketfuls of enzymes, zooms around in search of food, and employs all sorts of other biochemical survival strategies.

Photo: Jason Doiy

Finally, if things don't improve, the bug sporulates — the functional equivalent of transforming itself from a mushroom into a hibiscus. Márquez-Magaña teases out the genetic factors that orchestrate this dramatic transformation. Some of these factors allow disease-causing bacteria to resist the effects of antibiotic drugs, so understanding them in molecular detail may help scientists to design more powerful medications. Her studies will also shed light on the lives of harmful bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which infects those with weakened immune systems, and Salmonella typhimurium, which can cause food poisoning.

Márquez-Magaña, who is co-director of the MBRS RISE program at her university, says the program has played two major roles in her career. First, it supports her research. This allows her both to continue the work she started while a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, and to launch a new study with a collaborator at Cornell University.

"I can let my scientific imagination run wild. And I have a whole team of people to help me indulge my creativity and test my hypotheses. How exciting is that?!" she exclaims.

Second, MBRS enables her to pursue one of her greatest passions — preparing students, particularly minorities, to become scientists. When she teaches graduate-level courses, Márquez-Magaña doesn't lecture from behind a podium. Instead, she uses a discovery-based approach to train students to think analytically, develop hypotheses, and design experiments to test those hypotheses.

She also teaches a class called "Strategies for Success in Grad School" that peels back the sometimes mysterious culture of science.

As a mentor, she finds her greatest fulfillment in helping others to excel. "I strive to empower students of color to reach their true potential," she says. "My ultimate goal is to empower them to become my colleagues."

Photo: Liza Green

Identical twins Brian and Ryan Turner gained their first research experiences as MARC undergraduate students in the laboratory of Michael Summers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The twins are now conducting research and studying medicine at Harvard University. They credit MARC with providing opportunities and training that are key to their current success. In Ryan's words:

As a MARC student, "I was exposed to many fields of research [including structural biology and virology] that increased my interest in science. During high school, I had no idea what research entailed. [In college, I learned that research] is fun and exciting... and [provides] the opportunity to think creatively and to test my own ideas."

For him, one of the most rewarding experiences of the program was attending conferences around the country to share his work and ideas with others in his field. "These research meetings are as much about the people as they are [about] the science," he says. "I recall many faces and names of people who became 'instant' friends. These are the people who I know will be the future of science."