The University of Colorado at Boulder has received a four-year, $2 million Initiative for Minority Student Development grant from the National Institutes of Health to increase student diversity in bioscience fields on campus.
The IMSD program encourages educational institutions with fully developed research programs to initiate or expand innovative programs to improve the academic and research capabilities of underrepresented minority students. CU-Boulder's award creates new opportunities for minority students through graduate assistantships and an undergraduate NIH Scholars program, and also provides funding for the existing Summer Bridge program.
The principal investigator on the grant is Professor Robert Boswell of the molecular, cellular and developmental biology department and a former Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. HHMI investigator appointments are one of the most prestigious biomedical research positions in the United States.
A steering committee of eight CU-Boulder faculty members ranging from biology and engineering to math and psychology was selected to oversee the NIH grant, said Barbara Kraus, the program manager. The steering committee will guide the implementation and development of activities, select NIH scholars and graduate assistant recipients, and approve funding.
"Our hope is that more students from CU-Boulder will go on to graduate or professional schools in areas related to biological sciences," said Boswell. "The idea is to cover as many departments as possible and encourage as many underrepresented students as we can to enter bioscience careers."
The IMSD grant will fund three two-year fellowships for incoming underrepresented graduate students in biomedical science fields, said Kraus. During the first year of funding, three one-year fellowships also will be made available to either first- or second-year doctoral students.
The NIH Scholars Program also is designed to support students during their undergraduate careers in hopes of increasing the number and competitiveness of minority students pursuing bioscience careers, she said.
Freshmen and sophomores will receive laboratory training as part of the NIH Scholars Program to work in research labs. Juniors and seniors will take part in a journal lab to hone their analytical reading and writing skills and participate in advanced research internships at CU and other institutions, said Kraus.
"We want to get these students in early to help them to be successful," said Boswell. "We want to fit the right personalities of students with particular professors to enhance their chances of success."
The Summer Bridge Program also is part of the IMSD grant. Administered by the Minority Arts and Sciences Program and the Multicultural Engineering Program, the Summer Bridge Program is designed to ease the transition from high school to CU-Boulder and enhance academic preparation of incoming, underrepresented freshmen.
"We really want to get the students interested early on in the biological sciences," said Boswell. "The sooner we get them into lab work, the better their chances are for success."