Examples of NIGMS-Funded NRSA Training Programs with Notable Records of Diversity Recruitment and Retention

Cynthia C. Morton, Ph.D.
617-525-4535
cmorton@partners.org

Carolyn Machamer, Ph.D.
410-955-1809
machamer@jhmi.edu

Stephen P. Bell, Ph.D.
617-253-2054
spbell@mit.edu

Willem (Wilfred) van der Donk, Ph.D.
217-244-5360
vdonk@illinois.edu
http://scs.illinois.edu/cbi 

Jessica Schwartz, Ph.D.
734-647-2124
jeschwar@umich.edu

Robert Duronio, Ph.D.
919-962-7749
duronio@med.unc.edu

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

Ronald J. Prinz, Ph.D.
803-777-7143
prinz@mailbox.sc.edu

Kevin H. Gardner, Ph.D.
214-645-6365
Kevin.Gardner@UTSouthwestern.edu

Marc D. Binder, Ph.D.
206-543-2509
mbdinder@uw.edu

Dr. David Kimelman, Ph.D.
206-543-5730
Kimelman@u.washington.edu

James B. Skeath, Ph.D.
314-362-0535
jskeath@wustl.edu

Marilyn D. Resh, Ph.D.
212-639-2514
reshm@mskcc.org

Susan Marriott, Ph.D.
713-798-4440
susanm@bcm.edu

Alternate Contacts:
David L. Nelson, Ph.D., co-director
713-798-4787
nelson@bcm.edu

Fred Pereira, Ph.D., co-director
713-798-6933
fpereira@bcm.edu

Jue Wang, Ph.D., co-director
713-798-8182
jdwang@bcm.edu

Lourdes A. Fernandez, program administrator
713-798-6557
lourdesf@bcm.edu

Over the past 5 years, the program has averaged 20 percent matriculation of URM students, for a total URM matriculation of 11 students during these years. In the past 5 years (2008-present), 11 URM students have received a Ph.D. from our program. As seen below, the percentage of URM recruits in any given year is quite variable so consistent effort is needed to maintain the overall percentage.

2007:  2 of 9 (18 percent)
2008:  5 of 10 (50 percent)
2009:  1 of 9 (11 percent)
2010:  0 of 14 (0 percent)
2011:  3 of 14 (21 percent)

• Advertise the program in online resources.
• Annual function between CMB students/faculty and participants of the Summer Medical and Research Training (SMART) Program.
• Annual lunch presentation to PREP students and M.D.-Ph.D. students.
• E-mail contact with students in the CAGT database.
• E-mail to contacts obtained from GRE Search.
• Program administrator and/or program director attend the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) and Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) conferences every year.
• Program director visits to MARC U-STAR and MBRS RISE scholars institutions.
• Efforts to reach and accommodate individuals with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds at the institutional and program level such as Web page compliance with guidelines set under Section 508 of the Disabilities Act.
• Activities and resources provided to URM students by IMSD program, including student-created and run diversity group.
• We focus our URM recruiting efforts on students with strong letters of recommendation and who have demonstrated an aptitude for research through summer programs or research at their home institution. We find that GRE scores are of little value in predicting the success of URM students in our graduate program. We also try to evaluate the quality of the student's undergraduate academic preparation by considering the quality of their undergraduate institution and the mentors they have worked with.
• To enhance academic success, we offer a summer pre-matriculation review course to bring students up to a level playing field before classes start.

We try to identify talented students as early as possible through contacts developed at the ABRCMS and SACNAS meetings, the CAGT database and programs that bring URM students to BCM for research training experiences, such as the SMART summer program and PREP post-baccalaureate program. We meet and correspond with these students to encourage them to pursue a graduate education. We also develop relationships with the faculty advisors and program directors from undergraduate institutions that train a high percentage of URM students. Other graduate programs at BCM also have a large number of URM students, which has resulted in a supportive environment, and opportunities to interact with a larger population of students with similar backgrounds and experiences. Our success with recruitment and retention of URM students is a result of broad and persistent program efforts coupled with a very strong commitment from the Graduate School to support these goals.

10 of 52 (19 percent)

Matriculated URMs:
2005:  1 of 12 (8 percent)
2006:  1 of 6 (17 percent)
2007:  1 of 11 (9 percent)
2008:  1 of 9 (11 percent)
2009:  4 of 13 (31 percent)
2010: 1 of 11 (9 percent)
2011: 1 of 8 (13 percent)

Over the last several years we have seen a consistent increase in the number of URM applicants to our program. 2005 (4), 2006 (6), 2007 (6), 2008 (8), 2009 (11), 2010 (13); 2011 (16)

We actively participate in a SMART program which provides opportunities for up to 70 undergraduate students to take classes and experience laboratory research. Our neuroscience faculty are actively involved in teaching in this program.

Other outreach activities include:

• Yearly lunch meeting with PREP scholars in the postbac program and students in MSTP to tell them more about our graduate program.
• This year we had one training faculty member mentor a PREP scholar in the postbac program who was a URM. This URM also applied to and was interviewed for our neuroscience graduate program.
• M.D./Ph.D. students in their second year are invited to a dinner with faculty and students to learn more in-depth information about the type of research in the department.
• We send representatives of our program to SACNAS and ABRCMS for active recruitment of URM students.
• Online advertising through Petersons.com.
• E-mail marketing campaign to students obtained from the GRE Search Service.

We run a weekend-long recruitment visit where faculty, students and staff interact closely with all prospective students. The recruitment weekend occurs off-site and consists of poster sessions and talks given by current students. We have a keynote lecture as well, given by a nationally-recognized scientist. This event offers a remarkable opportunity for prospective students to interact with faculty and students. We have found this to be an excellent recruiting tool. If needed, we provide tutors from among the senior students for additional academic tutoring. Students meet with their tutors twice a week to complement their regular class instruction.

Susan T. Lovett, Ph.D.
781-736-2497
Lovett@brandeis.edu

3 of 7 (43 percent); in addition, there is one disabled student

Our URM applicants are up (to 6 percent in MCB and 8 percent in Neuroscience); applicants appear better qualified and are more likely to matriculate.

• Established personal relationships with URM-serving institutions. Faculty visits/seminars to these institutions and summer research internships have been established through these collaborations.
• Booth at SACNAS and ABRCMS conferences, manned by faculty and current trainees, coordinated among three Ph.D. programs at Brandeis University. Post-conference meetings are held with participants and training grant PIs to coordinate correspondence/follow-up with interested students. Student participation is key!
• Summer research programs for undergraduates, including a significant number of non-Brandeis students and URM students, supported by a variety of funding mechanisms (NSF REU, university funds, partner institution grant support).
• Student participation in recruitment days.
• Academic support and advising, especially in the first year. Involvement of training grant faculty in advising and mentoring is important, as is periodic, personal assessment of student research progress, even after coursework is completed. (Note that this is helpful for non-URM students as well.)

Cynthia C. Morton, Ph.D.
617-525-4535
cmorton@partners.org

3 of 26 (12 percent)

1 of 13 (8 percent)

Over the last 5 years the Harvard Medical School Genetics Training Program has prepared a total of 63 M.D.s and Ph.D.s to sit for the American Board of Medical Genetics (ABMG) certification examinations in clinical genetics, biochemical genetics, molecular genetics and cytogenetics. During this period, 5 of 21 trainees (~23 percent) supported by the T32 are URM and a total of 10/63 (~16 percent) trainees in the HMSGTP are URM.

• In conjunction with the first-year course in medical genetics at Harvard Medical School (HMS), we have initiated a new specific local effort to recruit trainees, in particular those underrepresented in medical genetics. Given the impressive percentage of underrepresented students who attend HMS, it seemed that approaching these students at this time might have a positive downstream effect. Medical genetics faculty and HMS medical students met this past fall to set up a Genetics Special Interest Group (SIG). The HMS Genetics SIG is a student-run organization for those interested in genetics and aims to provide opportunities for medical students to learn more about the field of genetics. Specific topics are chosen by the students and speakers come from our faculty. Every month a different faculty member presents cases in his/her area of expertise over an informal lunch discussion with the medical students. About 20-25 students have been attending the meetings, broadly representing the diverse backgrounds of HMS students. In addition, an application is being made by this group for recognition by the ABMG as a student group which will provide access to a wealth of medical genetics information, resources, networking opportunities, learning programs, special student activities at national meetings and scholarship opportunities.
• Harvard Medical School's Division of Medical Sciences conducts a 10-week program called the Summer Honors Undergraduate Research Program (SHURP) (now in its 20th year) primarily for college students belonging to minority groups that are underrepresented in the sciences. SHURP presently has 412 alumni from colleges across the country, over 90 percent of whom are continuing or planning to continue training and careers in the sciences. SHURP is one of the 15 summer research programs participating in the Summer Research Early Identification Program of the Leadership Alliance, a consortium of 32 colleges and universities dedicated to improving the participation of historically underrepresented students in graduate education programs.
• In 2011 the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center celebrated the 10th anniversary of Continuing Umbrella of Research Experience , a summer program that encourages URM high school and college students to spend 8-10 weeks in biomedical research projects in HMS-affiliated institutions.
• The i2b2-Health Sciences and Technology Summer Institute in Biomedical Informatics and Integrative Genomics recruits undergraduate students currently experienced, or aspiring to be so, at the intersection of bioinformatics and genetics/genomics. Whenever possible, this opportunity is afforded to URM minority students, first generation college students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds for whom such a program could provide a transformative, motivational experience.
• Within the Center for Faculty Diversity and Development at BWH, the Office for Multicultural Faculty Careers continues to sponsor the 8-week Summer Training in Academic Research and Scholarship (STARS). The STARS program aims to provide underrepresented minority medical and undergraduate students an opportunity to engage in basic, clinical and translational research projects during the summer at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Students who attend are encouraged to pursue advanced medical and graduate education and training at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
• The Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership (ODCP) at HMS was created to promote increased recruitment, retention and advancement of underrepresented minority faculty at HMS and to oversee all diversity activities involving HMS faculty, trainees, students and staff. ODCP programs and initiatives fall into two broad areas: minority faculty development and community outreach at all educational levels. In addition, HMS has a large program that encourages minority medical students to spend 4 to 8 weeks in clinical rotations at Harvard-affiliated hospitals. These recruitment efforts typically pay for travel and living expenses and provide a stipend.
• The mission and objectives of the URM HMS Students Mentorship Program are to develop a formal physician/researcher and student mentoring program as a model for other regions in the country; foster mentoring relationships between underrepresented medical students and physicians or researchers; establish a communication network between medical schools, government and industry to enhance opportunities for underrepresented medical students; and develop organized advocacy groups among students and faculty across academic medical institutions.
• Faculty participate as judges for poster sessions of the annual New England Science Symposium at HMS. The aim of the New England Science Symposium, sponsored by the ODCP and the Biomedical Science Careers Program, is to encourage postdoctoral fellows; medical, dental and graduate students; post-baccalaureates; college and community college students (particularly African American, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native individuals) involved in biomedical or health-related scientific research to share their work and exchange ideas to further their career development.

Michael L. Shelanski, M.D., Ph.D.
212-305-3300
mls7@columbia.edu

23 of 111 (21 percent)

2012 - 4 of 15 (27 percent)
2011 - 6 of 21 (29 percent)
2010 - 3 of 14 (21.4 percent)
2009 - 0 of 16
2008 - 2 of 12 (17 percent)
2007 - 5 of 17 (29 percent)
2006 - 2 of 11 (18 percent)
2005 - 2 of 8 (25 percent)

The past three recruiting seasons clearly indicate that the new recruiting strategies implemented have contributed significantly to the overall enrollment of underrepresented minorities.

Office of Diversity at Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons:

• The School of Medicine has a very active Office of Diversity. The incoming medical school class has 34 students who have self-identified as underrepresented minorities. During our revisit, our associate dean of diversity affairs addresses the candidates. We believe that making the students feel welcome is a big part of attracting students.

Local and National Meeting Recruitment:

• ABRCMS
  • The GSAS deans, Office of Diversity, and graduate students as well as M.D.-Ph.D. program directors, program coordinator and students have attended ABRCMS.
• SACNAS
  • Dr. Patrice Spitalnik has attended the SACNAS national meetings for most of the last 7 years.
• The New England Health Fair
  • For the past 9 years, the M.D.-Ph.D. program and the Office of Diversity at CUMC have attended the New England Health Fair held at Yale University.
• Puerto Rico Graduate and Profession School Fairs
  • Representatives from our graduate program attend this fair every year. Several of our M.D.-Ph.D. students from Puerto Rico have represented our program at these fairs.

Diversity Programs at Columbia:

• We participate in the Leadership Alliance, a consortium of 29 institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, dedicated to increasing minority students at all levels of science.
• The Columbia University/Hunter College Summer Research Program is held yearly for diversity students from Hunter College and other schools to attract promising diversity students to research.
  
• CUMC holds a summer diversity program "Columbia Minority Medical Education Program." One hundred minority students enroll each summer for a 6-week term. The students work in a research laboratory and complete a basic science curriculum.
• The Lang Youth Medical Program of New York Presbyterian Hospital is a 6-year science education and mentoring program for students in the neighborhood of CUMC.
• Students are encouraged to participate in transitional year(s) of research with faculty members at Columbia. The students are given research projects and take courses at Columbia University.
• We support our Student Diversity Advisory Committee in conjunction with the Columbia College of P&S Black and Latino Student Organization.
• URM M.D.-Ph.D. students speak at their alma mater to present MSTP information for undergraduates.
• M.D.-Ph.D. administrators have spoken to students at schools in New York City to addresses issues about science as a career and the dual degree program.

Diversity Programs for Students with Disabilities:

• We have attended the career fair for people with disabilities the last 2 years in Boston and New York. Columbia University was the only educational institution in attendance both years. The Coordinated Doctoral Program at CUMC placed a 1/4-page ad in the fall 2010 Annual Career Planning Issue of CAREERS & the disABLED magazine.
• The application form to Columbia University includes a question that allows applicants to self-identify.
• Services in place at Columbia University through the Office of Disability Services are available to students with disabilities. This past year the office provided sign language interpreters for a hearing impaired student during her interview and transportation for a disabled student during interviews.

Carolyn Machamer, Ph.D.
410-955-1809
machamer@jhmi.edu

17 of 125 (14 percent)

Our URM enrollment started significantly improving 6 years ago when new measures were adopted. URM enrollment has remained fairly steady since then. In addition, applications from extremely talented URM students have steadily increased over the last 5 years, and we are currently working on recruiting more of these students.

Recruitment

• Connections with local URM-serving institutions—we invite undergraduates interested in biomedical graduate programs to visit for a day to learn about our program, and about Johns Hopkins University in general.
• Participation in the Summer Internship Program—director meets with these students every summer for lunch and to answer questions about our graduate program.
• Connections with MARC program directors—academic program manager visits and arranges summer lab experiences for highly qualified students.
• Attendance at ABRCMS and SACNAS by program director, staff and current students—then follow through on contacts made with undergraduates.

Retention

• Careful attention to academic success by close monitoring by the program director and academic program manager, and by arranging tutors as necessary.
• The Biomedical Scholars Association is a student run group that provides a support system for URM students to promote academic and professional success.
• A graduate student peer mentoring program is sponsored by the Office of Student Diversity; this program helps student navigate graduate school and fosters student success.

2007: 5 of 31 (16 percent)
2008: 5 of 27 (19 percent)
2009: 7 of 40 (18 percent)
2010: 9 of 44 (20 percent)
2011: 5 of 35 (14 percent)

Our goal is to identify talented and motivated URM and disadvantaged students, bring them to MIT, provide additional training in research and teach them problem-solving skills to prepare them for graduate school. We also focus on establishing strong relationships with faculty at URM-serving institutions engaged in training and mentoring students. Major components to our success include multiple programs to expose URM and disadvantaged students to MIT, a full-time administrator dedicated to coordinating URM and disadvantaged student recruitment efforts, a committed and involved faculty and the participation of current students.

Recruitment

• The MIT Summer Research Program is a 10-week summer research-intensive program that also includes coursework related to the MIT Biology first-year graduate curriculum. The program focuses on URM, disadvantaged and other students that do not have access to extensive research programs at their home institutions. Our goal is to expose participating students to the research and academic training that occurs during graduate school.
• A 7-day Quantitative Biology Workshop (QBW, since 2010). Faculty and students at URM-serving or other institutions with active MARC or HHMI programs are invited to participate in the QBW offered in early January at MIT. During lectures and demonstrations run by a combination of faculty, postdocs and current graduate students, QBW students are exposed to a number of quantitative concepts and methods that are used to obtain and analyze biological data, gaining valuable skills and hands-on instructions. Students also meet with six to eight faculty and learn about their research.
• Summer research sabbatical for faculty from URM-serving institutions. Junior or tenured faculty that have a strong record of mentoring undergraduates are invited to spend a summer in the laboratory of an MIT faculty member that matches their research interests. This provides the faculty a powerful opportunity to advance their own research and establish research collaborations with MIT faculty.
• The Biology Biotechnology Bridge program is a 2-year post-baccalaureate program started in 2010. It is a collaborative venture between the MIT biology department and its biotech partners to provide talented and motivated URM and disadvantaged students additional research and academic preparation to facilitate their success in top-tier graduate programs.
• Regular attendance of faculty members and current graduate students at ABRCMS and SACNAS meetings.
• Regular contact with MARC, RISE and McNair program directors at other institutions.
• Regular campus visits to minority-serving institutions to meet with faculty and students. These visits include a presentation that outlines various opportunities at MIT for URM and disadvantaged students.
• Connect URM undergraduate students to current URM graduate students at MIT.
• The graduate admissions process is focused on grades, research experience and letters of recommendation rather than standardized test scores.

Retention

• The MIT biology graduate curriculum is designed to train motivated students in the fundamental approaches to address biological questions, even if students have gaps in their preparation.
• MIT has a number of programs to support URMs, including power lunches, student network and support groups, cultural events and mentoring programs.
• MIT biology URM students have the option to arrive the summer prior to beginning their graduate studies to facilitate their adjustment to a research/graduate school environment.

In the last 4 years, we have recruited 8 URM to the Biotechnology Training Program. In the last 3 years, 3 URM students graduated with Ph.D. degrees. In the 20 year history of the program, we have consistently had between 23-38 percent URM representation.

We personally partner with the Rutgers Graduate School-New Brunswick (GSNB) which leads initiatives to recruit, retain and graduate excellent graduate students from diverse backgrounds. GSNB has an excellent record of success in broadening participation in the STEM disciplines. These initiatives include:

• Exhibit at professional society meetings and national student research conferences.
• Visit feeder schools.
  • NJ colleges
  • Minority-serving institutions nationwide
• Coordinate network of faculty, graduate student, postdoc ambassadors.
• Participate in consortia dedicated to broadening participation.
• Mine databases to identify prospects and share with graduate program directors.
• Host undergraduate summer research program, Research in Science and Engineering .
• Host Winter Forum for prospects from NJ colleges.
• Admissions:
  • Help match recruits with most appropriate program(s).
  • Identify external funding for diversity candidates.
• Develop transitional pathways to Ph.D.
• Articulated M.S./Ph.D. Bridge—fund one STEM student/year.
• Develop best practices for mentoring and academic support (e.g. flexible curriculum, peer tutoring).
• Coordinate professional development activities for diverse cohort.

Another very successful approach is our constant contact with the graduate directors of the participating graduate programs. During the recruiting season, we make the graduate directors aware of the open slots in the biotechnology training program, and challenge them to help fill them with appropriate candidates, especially URM candidates.

• NSF Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate : Partnership of 10 research-intensive institutions that develop mechanisms to recruit, support and mentor underrepresented minority students interested in Ph.D.s and academic careers in the sciences, technology, engineering or math. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst, as the lead institution, teams with Rutgers and Boston University, MIT, Penn State and the land grant colleges of the New England states. Specified minority-serving institutions serve as potential feeder schools.
• NSF Innovation through Institutional Integration: 5 year grant to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. A new Graduate Innovation and Integration Center will assume responsibility for (a) extending curricula and practices developed by IGERT training grants to all STEM graduate programs and (b) preparing undergraduates for advanced training through undergraduate research experiences and graduate school transition programs.
• The National Name Exchange : Consortium of 30 nationally- recognized research institutions which collect and exchange the names of their underrepresented minority undergraduates planning graduate study. Along with Rutgers, participating institutions include Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Stanford, Cal Tech, a number of campuses in the UC system and several other universities. GSNB mines the data and compiles a discipline-specific list for each graduate program.
• The National Physical Sciences Consortium : Ph.D.-track fellowship program in the physical sciences and engineering. Rutgers has access to a database of nominees, sorted by disciplinary area.
• Graduate Education for Minorities : Network of universities and companies that partner to provide opportunities for underrepresented minority students to earn fellowships for M.S. and Ph.D. programs in the sciences and engineering. GSNB mines the data and compiles a discipline-specific list for each graduate program.
• McNair Program : McNair facilitates access to higher education for low income, first-generation college students and students with disabilities. GSNB attends the National McNair Conference, mines the data from the national McNair clearinghouse and shares with graduate programs, and partners with our own Rutgers McNair program.
• Student research conferences and professional society meetings: Examples include ABRCMS, National Society of Black Physicists/Hispanic Physicists, SACNAS, Historically Black College and Universities Undergraduate Programs, California Forums for Diversity, National McNair Conference and the National Organization of Black Chemists & Chemical Engineers. The Graduate School also facilitates recruitment at student poster session components of professional society meetings; some such societies have minority affairs committees.

Willem (Wilfred) van der Donk, Ph.D.
217-244-5360
vdonk@illinois.edu
http://scs.illinois.edu/cbi 

Alternate Contact:
Nan Holda,CBI program coordinator
217-244-5450
holda@illinois.edu

2005: 0 percent (first year of program)
2006: 20 percent
2007: 17 percent
2008: 33 percent
2009: 50 percent
2010: 43 percent
2011: 25 percent

Applications to the program have increased upon stepwise implementation of the recruitment activities described below.

• Institutional financial commitment that allows sponsoring of some of the activities below by the CBI program.
• Regular attendance of CBI faculty and URM trainees at SACNAS and ABRCMS. The program sponsored on average ~6 people (faculty, undergraduate students, graduate students) to travel to these meetings each year; other students attended on travel fellowships.
• CBI program director is the faculty advisor for local SACNAS chapter, which is made up predominantly of graduate students. The chapter fulfills an important role in community building.
• Senior trainees are sponsored to travel back to their alma maters to present their research and share their experiences.
• Program established links with two MARC programs. Students from these programs are invited to visit UIUC for summer research.
• Summer research fellowships for URM undergraduate students (both local and from other institutions); some are campus sponsored (e.g. SROP) others are CBI sponsored (CBI summer research fellowships).
• Program recruits both at the admissions stage and also by a competition for second or third year students. This mechanism offers opportunities for students who blossom in research after arrival and coursework.
• Summer research opportunities for matriculating graduate students allow them to become comfortable with their new environment before the semester starts.
• CBI faculty members participate in activities of local URM-oriented organizations (e.g., NOBChE, SACNAS).
• Participation in the Minority Engineering Recruitment for Graduate Education program in the College of Engineering. Each fall up to 70 minority science and engineering students are offered an all-expense-paid visit to UIUC to meet with faculty and learn about the university's cultural programs and facilities. Student visitors are offered the opportunity to initiate an online application to a UIUC graduate program before returning home.

Jessica Schwartz, Ph.D.
734-647-2124
jeschwar@umich.edu

Alternate Contact:
Catherine Mitchell, program administrator
734-764-5428
cmbgrad@umich.edu

10 of 69 (14.5 percent)

3 of 18 (16.7 percent)

We have had a steady presence of URM students in the CMB Program over the past 5 years (average 13.2 percent). In recent years, URM students have comprised 23 percent of the graduates from the CMB Program.

Recruitment

• URM applicants are hosted by current URM students and meet faculty of similar social and ethnic background.
• The active presence of faculty from different cultural backgrounds and their interactions with students and other faculty lets applicants know that cultural differences do not present barriers at the University of Michigan.
• Strong involvement of current URM students in recruitment activities, including serving as hosts, and attending meals and social events, allows visiting students to bond with current students. URM students also have active presence during recruitment in general, assisting as speakers and tour guides, and presenting posters, which demonstrates integration of diversity in the student experience.
• Host students and faculty stay in contact with URM students after applicants visit campus, providing more information, and answering questions.
• CMB students are strongly involved in several organizations for URM students including Association of Multicultural Scientists (AMS), the Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), Society of Minority Engineers and Scientists-Graduate (SMES-G), Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and the Movement of Underrepresented Sisters in Engineering and Science (MUSES), which disseminate program material to URM students and showcase diversity on campus. The University of Michigan provides support to these organizations.
• AMS was originally formed for URM students and their professional success in graduate school. Because of its success as a support mechanism, it is now open to all students who want to join, but retains its focus on URM students. CMB students have been very involved in AMS and are often elected as officers. AMS sponsors a reception during each interview weekend, which allows students to meet and learn about social, support and outreach activities that foster success, particularly of URM students in the biomedical sciences during graduate training and beyond. AMS also invites outside speakers from underrepresented groups to present a university-wide seminar and to interact with students one-on-one during visits.
• CMB faculty and students participate in PREVIEW, which brings URM students to campus in the fall before applications are due, to learn about graduate school and research opportunities.
• Summer undergraduate research programs such as the University of Michigan Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP), which attracts URM students on a national scale, allows interaction and mentoring of the students who come to campus. CMB faculty routinely serve as lab mentors for this program. During a recent regional Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC) SROP Conference, which University of Michigan has hosted for the 12 participating institutions of CIC, CMB faculty and students have been heavily involved in hosting and mentoring students (nearly 350 URM attendees); CMB students who attend the conferences are subsidized by the university.
• The University of Michigan Pre-MSTP Summer Research Program selects URM students considering dual degree (M.D.-Ph.D.) programs; CMB faculty are among those coordinating the program and hosting these students in their labs.
• CMB faculty and students participate in Michigan PREP, the UM NIH-funded Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program. Michigan PREP provides individuals from underrepresented groups who have recently obtained their baccalaureate degrees with a year of additional extensive academic enhancements and research experiences to prepare for graduate admission and training. PREP directors are members of the CMB faculty. CMB faculty and students have served as lab and peer mentors for selected scholars. AMS offers special programs for PREP students to discuss the path to graduate school, and both CMB and AMS specifically invite PREP students to their activities.
• CMB faculty participated actively in a Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS) event hosting advisors from traditionally URM schools and targeted research programs (such as MARC, MBRS, LSAMP and McNair) to inform them of opportunities for their students in our graduate programs. PIBS plans to host such an event again next year.
• Faculty and current students are active in targeted recruitment locally and nationally at individual campuses with high minority enrollment, e.g. SFSU.
• CMB sponsors attendance and participation of CMB faculty and students at national meetings such as SACNAS and ABRCMS. Both CMB faculty and students often make presentations at these national meetings.
• Offers of admission are based on personal interviews with faculty and students, with strong emphasis on research background, research interest, personal statement and letters of recommendation from research advisors, with less focus on standardized tests.

Retention

• CMB is noted for its individualized curriculum, availability of tutoring and regularly scheduled personalized academic advising throughout the program.
• Many URM students participate in a summer institute at UM the summer before entering graduate school to develop tools and prepare for the transition to graduate school.
• A critical mass of active, current URM students involved in AMS, AGEP, SMES-G, MUSES and WISE on campus provides a support system during graduate school through personal and professional resources.
• CMB invites AMS students in all of the PIBS graduate programs to attend CMB Program events. CMB so-sponsors the keynote speaker invited by AMS to campus each year.
• Institutional funding allows flexibility in the early years of graduate training.
• Faculty mentor and work with students to apply for URM-related fellowships and encourage students to apply for individual F31 fellowships.
• Interactions with students and faculty through oral, written and poster presentations.
• Planned professional and social activities promote friendly, interactive and supportive atmosphere such as research seminar series, evening gatherings, weekend retreats.

CMB recruits students through PIBS. CMB faculty and students are active in all recruiting activities organized by PIBS and the Rackham Graduate School that target URM students.

Robert Duronio, Ph.D.
919-962-7749
duronio@med.unc.edu

Alternate Contacts:
Ashalla Freeman, Ph.D., director of diversity affairs
Office of Graduate Education, UNC-CH School of Medicine
919-843-6960
ashalla@unc.edu

Sausyty Hermreck, curriculum administrator
919-966-5881
sausytyh@med.unc.edu

3 of 14 (21 percent)

Over the past 4 years, the diversity of our student body has more than tripled to a current total of 15 URM students. To date, 6 of these 15 students (40 percent) have received competitive fellowships to support their graduate training. Our URM matriculation has ranged from 13 percent to 36 percent in recent years.

• URM recruitment through the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP) umbrella program is coordinated by the Science Training and Diversity (STaD) group of the Office of Graduate Education in the UNC-CH School of Medicine . Genetics & Molecular Biology (GMB) curriculum students and faculty participate in the recruitment events described below.
• STaD staff, Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) graduate students and faculty attended several diversity research conferences at which undergraduate students from underrepresented groups presented their research. In addition to speaking with students about our summer research, post-baccalaureate and graduate programs, STaD staff and UNC-CH faculty served as poster/oral presentation judges and spoke individually to presenting students about BBSP and UNC-CH. STaD staff and UNC-CH faculty also visited minority-serving institutions to speak about research and participate in graduate school recruiting fairs. STaD staff and IMSD students presented hands-on biomedical workshops at the University of the Virgin Islands and the University of Puerto Rico-Cayey. Similar workshops were also presented to visiting Spelman College students.
• STaD personnel directed two research programs for underrepresented undergraduates during the summer of 2010—Dr. Hyun Kate Lee (GMB Ph.D. student) directed the IMSD-SMARTII program for UNC freshmen and paired them with IMSD graduate student mentors; Dr. Patrick Brandt directed the SOLAR program for junior and senior students from other undergraduate institutions. Through these programs, students conducted laboratory research, and participated in GRE preparatory workshops and additional graduate school preparative seminars.
• During Fall 2010, brochures and fliers advertising the BBSP, IMSD, PREP and summer research programs were mailed to PREP, MARC and RISE program directors. BBSP application fee waivers were offered to student participants in these programs.

URM Applicants

• The number of URM students applying to BBSP continues to increase every year. Additionally, more URM students are submitting and completing their applications for admission. In 2010, 84 percent of URMs who started BBSP applications went on to submit the application, and 83 percent of those applications were completed and reviewed in committee. In 2011, both the application submission (87 percent) and (99 percent) completion rates by URM candidates were increased over the previous year. These improvements were not due to application fee waivers as the number of accepted waivers did not increase from 2010 to 2011, but rather were likely the result of effective recruitment efforts. 50 percent of the URM applications reviewed in 2011 were submitted by applicants who were met through specific STaD recruitment activities—visits to their undergraduate institution (UVI-5, UPR-6, Oakwood-2, Morgan State-1, NCA&T-3), BBSP exhibits at undergraduate research conferences (SACNAS-4, ABRCMS-18) and/or mailings to program directors (PREP-23, MARC-4, RISE-2).
• IMSD collaborates with the genetics T32 training program to offer a genetics diversity fellowship to incoming first year URM students. These fellowships combine IMSD, training program and university resources to recruit outstanding first year students and provide them with funding for 2 years, travel funds to attend research conferences/courses, a textbook scholarship, a laptop and a mentorship team comprised of faculty to provide guidance and additional mentorship during their first year.
• URM BBSP applicants who are invited for an interview are provided an interview guide that gives suggestions for interviewing well. Additionally, these applicants are invited to an informal gathering at the start of their BBSP interview weekend where they can meet the director of diversity affairs and other IMSD participants to learn about BBSP, IMSD and the opportunities available to them at UNC.
• Interviewees who are offered admission into BBSP are contacted by the director of diversity affairs and the STaD director to share our excitement about them and offer additional assistance/information, as needed. The BBSP director sends personal (handwritten) notes to each of these students to reiterate our excitement about them.
• Individual Development Plans are being developed for all IMSD participants. These collaborations between IMSD staff, IMSD students and their research mentors include assessment of the student's skills by the student and mentor. These cooperative teams foster collaboration among the research mentor, student and IMSD staff and have been found to be an important component of student training. Research mentors greatly value the opportunities afforded their students through IMSD and welcome the continued support of IMSD staff and services for their students.

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

Neuroscience Graduate Group: 11 of 119 (9.2 percent)
SIB Training Grant: 5 of 12 (41.7 percent)

Neuroscience Graduate Group: 4 of 21 (19 percent)
SIB Training Grant: 4 of 4 (100 percent)

Neuroscience Graduate Group:
2007: 1 of 18 (5.6 percent)
2008: 2 of 23 (8.7 percent)
2009: 3 of 19 (15.8 percent)
2010: 1 of 18 (5.6 percent)
2011: 4 of 21 (19 percent)

SIB Training Grant:
2007: 3 of 11 (27.3 percent)
2008: 3 of 11 (27.3 percent)
2009: 3 of 11 (27.3 percent)
2010: 2 of 12 (16.7 percent)
2011: 5 of 12 (41.7 percent)

• We work constantly to maintain/improve both the Neuroscience Graduate Program and the SIB Training Program as pre-eminent programs that attract outstanding students.
• We have a multi-layered, very accessible advising system for our students which enables our program to be tailored individually to the needs of each student while ensuring that everyone makes good progress. Our attrition rate is below the national average, and our students are enthusiastic, highly-motivated and very interactive. Consequently, they are our most important recruiting resource when applicants visit our program to be interviewed for admission.
• Many of our faculty and students participate annually in numerous URM-related educational events , such as Kids Judge! Neuroscience Fair, the Regional (Society for Neuroscience-sponsored) Brain Bee and Upward Bound Neuroscience Courses (both a summer course and on weekends during the school year). Our faculty also participate annually, both as research advisors and lecturers, in the UPenn Summer Undergraduate Internship Program and Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program programs. We also have program representatives annually attend the ABRCMS and SACNAS Meetings.

Many of our URM students participate actively in the Ernest E. Just Biomedical Society , which is a student-run organization that fosters the professional development of underrepresented graduate students in the biomedical sciences. Several of our students have been officers in this society.

Alternate Contact:
Michele Blondin, administrative coordinator
803-777-7143
mblondin@mailbox.sc.edu

5 of 14 (35.7 percent)

• Maintaining ongoing relations with undergraduate programs and HBCUs around the country within each pertinent discipline.
• Making personalized contact with each prospective applicant.
• Building research areas in health disparities, with multiple emphases such as prevention science, developmental sciences, etiological research, implementation science.
• Increasing and retaining URM faculty.

Kevin H. Gardner, Ph.D.
214-645-6365
Kevin.Gardner@UTSouthwestern.edu

1 of 4 (25 percent)

10 of 35 (29 percent)

URM in Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program each year:
2006: 4 of 42 (10 percent)
2007: 5 of 35 (14 percent)
2008: 4 of 31 (13 percent)
2009: 5 of 34 (15 percent)
2010: 3 of 35 (8.5 percent)
2011: 2 of 41 (4 percent).

URM of Training Grant Eligible students in Division of Basic Sciences by entering class:
2006: 16 of 59 (27 percent)
2007: 2 of 42 (29 percent)
2008: 2 of 51 (24 percent)
2009: 14 of 63 (22 percent)
2010: 15 of 55 (27 percent)
2011: 10 of 35 (29 percent)

At UT Southwestern, graduate student recruitment, admissions and much of the first year curriculum are administered through an umbrella program (Division of Basic Sciences, DBS). Near the end of their first year on campus, students select one of 13 programs or tracks that will oversee their training through the remainder of their graduate careers. Students in two of these, Molecular Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, provide the pool of applicants for support from this training grant. As such, our strategy has been to integrate biophysics/quantitative biology faculty and content with ongoing efforts at the umbrella level for URM student recruiting and retention. In particular, this includes:

• Coordinated outreach to universities, programs and meetings with significant numbers of URM students: DBS staff (Associate Dean and Diversity Officer Nancy Street, Assistant Dean Stuart Ravnik, Recruiter Lisa Gardner) have helped facilitate visits by biophysics faculty to universities, training programs and national meetings with significant participation of URM students. These have included participation as poster judges and presenters at national meetings such as ABRCMS, SACNAS, Protein Society, Biophysical Society and American Physical Society. Training grant faculty have also visited undergraduate T34/MARC and McNair Scholar programs, and met with groups of URM students organized at universities as part of research seminar visits.
• Participation in summer training opportunities: DBS accepts a high proportion of minority students into the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and Quantitative and Physical Sciences-SURF (QP-SURF) programs. Both programs offer 10-week long opportunities for undergraduate students to join a UT Southwestern research lab, including those of many faculty members of this training grant. Approximately 10 percent of the applicants to the SURF program in 2011 were minority students and 19 percent of the SURF 2011 participants were from underrepresented groups. In QP-SURF, 20 percent of the 2011 QP-SURF participants were minority students. Minority students are heavily recruited by many institutions as summer fellows and, in the past 5 years, informal agreements with mentors from eight minority universities have evolved to guarantee spots in SURF and QP-SURF for their best and brightest minority students.
• Involvement with local area high-school teacher/student training: The Science Teachers Access to Resources at Southwestern (STARS) program plays a central role in UT Southwestern's outreach to students and teachers at local high schools, many of which have high proportions of minority student enrollment. Training grant faculty members have participated in all aspects of the STARS program, ranging from hosting high school students in labs for the summer to presenting talks at teacher symposia to hosting tours of laboratories and core facilities.
• Opportunities for enhanced orientation and tutoring: Training grant faculty members are involved in the teaching and mentoring of URM students throughout the first-year and advanced courses. UT Southwestern also offers additional support both before the first semester (via an enhanced orientation program) and through the first year (with a tutoring program), both of which have aided in student retention.

Marc D. Binder, Ph.D.
206-543-2509
mbdinder@uw.edu

Neurobiology Training Program: 6 of 57 (11 percent)
Supported by Training Grant: 2 of 12 (17 percent)

2 of 10 (20 percent)

Matriculated URMs: Number of URM trainees has fluctuated between 2 of 12 (17 percent) and 4 of 11 (36 percent).

• The Graduate Program in Neurobiology & Behavior actively participates in the University of Washington Biomedical Research Minority Outreach Task Force (includes other UW biomedical Ph.D. programs) events and outreach materials (see BMR brochure ). The BMR Task Force meets at least quarterly to share best practices and to plan events. Representatives from the Neurobiology & Behavior Program attend the SACNAS and ABRCMS conferences every year. We also attend outreach activities via UW's Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs during the summer and regular academic year, and other outreach activities on the UW campus.
• As part of our annual recruitment process, we hold a special dinner for URM applicants at the home of a URM training grant faculty member. In addition to the applicants, the dinner is attended by the program directors, all URM faculty and our of our URM current students. This dinner provides an opportunity for our URM applicants to discuss any concerns they may have about UW and Seattle with respect to diversity issues. By holding this gathering at a faculty member's home, we provide a more comfortable and informal setting than that in which the more formal interviews are held. Following the students' visit to campus, at least one of the faculty members attending the URM recruitment dinner makes follow-up personal contact with each applicant. The Office of Research & Graduate Education in the School Medicine provides funding for additional interactions (i.e., special breakfasts) for URM students during their visit to Seattle. All travel costs and hotel accommodations for URM applicants are covered by the Graduate Program in Neurobiology & Behavior.
• The program directors of the 12 NIH training grants with predoctoral students at the University of Washington have recently formed a cooperative to coordinate their URM recruitment efforts. The cornerstone of the collaboration entails using institutional funds to bring faculty members charged with advising undergraduate science students at institutions with large numbers of URM students for visits to the University of Washington. We arrange for these individuals to meet with the training grant directors and URM students enrolled in the different programs. These visits provide us with the opportunity to describe our training programs and learn about the URM students at the visitors' institutions. Those visitors engaged in biomedical research are also invited to give research talks and meet with UW faculty, students and postdocs in their respective fields.

David Kimelman, Ph.D.
206-543-5730
Kimelman@u.washington.edu

8 of 31 (26 percent)

2 of 14 (14 percent)

There has been a steady increase in the number of first-year URMs in the MCB program over the past 5 years, particularly during the last few years with an increase in effort across the biomedical sciences.  Of particular note was the 2008 entering class where seven of the incoming 25 students were URMs (28 percent). Retention rates have been good with only the occasional departure of a URM in the first year. In 2012, only 14 percent of entering class are URMs; however, there was a significant increase from 2011 in the number of URM applicants, an increase from 19 to 29 applications.

• We established 4 years ago a pan-departmental URM student recruitment committee, co-chaired by the PI, David Kimelman, and the director of the MCB program (the major interdisciplinary graduate program), David Raible, which brings together faculty from 14 departments in the biomedical sciences. The committee works to coordinate efforts at recruitment, and works to get faculty to recruit on behalf of all the departments and programs, not just their own.
• We established a Biomedical Recruitment Minority (BMR) task force that brings together the staff of the different biomedical departments involved in graduate admissions to ensure that the staff is working together in recruiting URM students to the UW, rather than just focusing their efforts on their own department.
• We collaborate with affiliated institutions both in recruitment and retention. The MCB program is affiliated with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the Institute for Systems Biology and the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, all located in different parts of Seattle. Each of these institutions engages in minority recruitment and retention, and the staff work to synergize effort.
• We have a very active (and award-winning) student SACNAS chapter that not only ensures that many graduate students attend the national SACNAS meetings, it helps in recruitment by meeting visiting students, and improves retention by providing the students with an enthusiastic support group. We provide this group financial support and the PI of the training grant is an active participant, demonstrating clear faculty interest in the group.
• We maintain a consistent annual appearance at a select number of URM biomedical research conferences. Twelve of the biomedical departments have committed to fund one faculty member every other year to one of the national meetings (ABRCMS, AISES, SACNAS, ERN Conference in STEM), which is coordinated by the faculty committee mentioned above. In addition, the MCB program cooperates with approximately 10 other UW biomedical departments to ensure staff and faculty representation at these national conferences. The MCB program, as well as the departments, provides funding to ensure that there is also graduate student representation at the conferences.
• This training grant funded two brochures—one for senior undergraduates, the second for high school students and freshmen—that showcase each department and interdisciplinary program in biomedicine at the UW (and affiliated institutions). These publications demonstrate to URM students the definition of terminology, the breadth of opportunities, while helping them to find the right department or program to spark their interest.
• We take advantage of any outreach activities on the main UW campus and in the surrounding area. Examples of this type include the McNair Scholars program that hosts an annual conference on campus in the spring. In addition, the BMR task force invites science students from the local community colleges for a half-day event including a forum on student experiences in transferring from a community college to a large university, a lab demonstration and concluding with information tables set up by different biomedical programs.
• The MCB program hosts a faculty career luncheon for high school summer interns and UW incoming freshmen, most of whom are URMs, from the UW GenOM Project. Faculty from the basic science departments attend, interact with the interns during lunch, then participate in a panel presentation. The faculty panel discusses those life experiences that drew them to a career in biomedical research. The young interns find this event most interesting and rate it as one of the best experiences of their summer internships.
• We take advantage of any institutional incentives available to increase URM acceptance of admission offers. For example, UW ARCS (Achievement Awards for College Scientists) offers competitive fellowships to enhance an offer of admission to URM applicants. These fellowships have proved very useful in garnering new minority admissions. UW GO-MAP (Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program) also offers other fellowships for incoming and current URM graduate students that help in recruitment and retention.
• We provide regular mentor and peer interactions for URM students. MCB students as a whole are guaranteed regular mentor counseling from the first day they enter this program. These informal interactions assist in identifying problems early and allow the mentors sufficient time to help resolve problems. GO-MAP also offers a series of events for URM graduate students to meet and socialize—such as the quarterly "Staying Connected" social hour. Further, on campus there exists the Ethnic Cultural Center which hosts events geared toward both undergraduate and graduate students across campus. URM students are informed about the availability of these services.

Walter J. Chazin, Ph.D.
615-936-2210
walter.chazin@vanderbilt.edu

10 of 70 (14 percent)

15 of 73 (21 percent)

2011 1 of 7 (14 percent)
2010 1 of 8 (12 percent)
2009 1 of 8 (12 percent)
2008 0 of 7 (0 percent)
2007 0 of 7 (0 percent)

*Our program has maintained the ~1/7 ratio of URM students during this period, many of whom have successfully competed for independent federal or non-federal support.

• Commitment from our institution: Vanderbilt University central administration and the deans of the schools are strongly supportive of efforts to increase diversity and they recognize that this must occur at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Medical School's Summer Science Academy and Chemistry NSF REU together create a large program of undergraduate summer internship opportunities, with a primary focus on students from groups that are underrepresented in science. A major commitment has been made to the recruitment of such students to our graduate programs in biomedical research. These activities are coordinated through the Office of Biomedical Research, Education and Training (BRET), with the assistance of the Office of Diversity in the Medical School.
• Commitment from our program: Increasing the number of underrepresented trainees is a high priority item for our Molecular Biophysics program. A concerted effort has been made to improve our track record for approximately 10 years. This involves a direct commitment from our program director and a recruitment committee of faculty and students that is largely devoted to increasing our diversity. Our strategy emphasizes direct contacts with candidate minority trainees and faculty, at national meetings, our open house and through pipelines with institutions having very diverse undergraduate student populations.
• Attendance at national conferences: Top priority in this effort is given to the large annual SACNAS and ABRCMS meetings. Our program director has committed to attend at least one of these meetings each year. We are assisted by the BRET Office, which sends key members of their leadership team along with 3-4 other staff members to these meetings. We note that the BRET office pays expenses for Vanderbilt URM graduate students to attend SACNAS and ABRCMS, and our program has taken great advantage of this offer in the past 5 years to maximize this opportunity. The Biophysical Society remains very active in promoting diversity, and our program director and other faculty preceptors participate in all recruiting opportunities at the annual meeting, including the annual undergraduate fair.
• Annual open house for prospective graduate students: The open house is held in late September or early October and includes short talks from faculty, a poster session where Vanderbilt graduate students present their research, tours of laboratories and research facilities and oral presentations by graduate students about their experiences at Vanderbilt. The latter includes students representing the diversity of our student population and they explanation the various groups and other structures that support students from underrepresented groups. The attendees are solicited through letters sent to ~200 colleges, with a focus on those with large underrepresented minority populations, inviting them to send faculty and students to the open house. To motivate their participation, funds are raised internally to cover their costs of travel expenses and meals. The event has been a major success with many institutions returning year after year.
• Building pipelines: Specific pipelines to institutions serving students from underrepresented groups are viewed as an essential element of our efforts. Hence, we actively recruit and ask our current students to recruit from their undergraduate institutions. We also strongly encourage contacts between our faculty preceptors and specific URM faculty, largely driven around research collaborations through direct interactions that occur through seminars at our institution or theirs. In this vein, our preceptors are strongly encouraged to participate in recruiting by giving lectures at institutions with large minority populations. Support for these efforts is provided by the Center for Structural Biology, the Chemistry Department, the IMSD program and the BRET Office.

James B. Skeath, Ph.D.
314-362-0535
jskeath@wustl.edu

Alternate Contacts:
Rochelle D. Smith, director, Office of Diversity, Summer Programs and Community Outreach
314-362-7963
rsmith@wustl.edu

Jillian Lucas, coordinator, Office of Diversity, Summer Programs and Community Outreach
314-362-7456
lucasj@dbbs.wustl.edu

16 of 151 (11 percent)

5 of 22 (23 percent)

3 of 30 (10 percent)
9 of 61 (14.8 percent)

Over the past 5 years the percent of URM students who have applied, been accepted to and matriculated into graduate programs in DBBS are 14.0 percent, 15.3 percent and 15.8 percent respectively. These numbers represent 34 percent, 17 percent and 35 percent increases in their respective categories relative to the prior 5-year period.

• Strong institutional commitment to enhancing diversity: The creation of an office of diversity outreach, staffed by a director and a coordinator, and a diversity steering committee, both of which focus on devising, implementing and assessing effective and creative ways to recruit, retain and graduate students from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Undergraduate summer research training opportunities: Minority-focused undergraduate summer research programs (BioMedRap ) and the Opportunities in Genomic Research Scholars Program that introduce prospective graduate and M.D./Ph.D. students to the students, faculty and available research opportunities at Washington University.
• Student-led outreach to city high schools: The Young Scientist Program exposes hundreds of high school students and teachers from the St. Louis City Public Schools to hypothesis-driven research via hands-on research activities. This program is run entirely by Ph.D., M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students.
• Establishment of partnerships with historically black colleges: We have hosted educational visits for students, faculty and administrators from Spelman College as well as from Morehouse College during the academic year. These visits have led to multiple opportunities for faculty members and students from these institutions to conduct research over the summer at individual labs at Washington University; they have also lead to a commitment for regular visits by our faculty and administrators to these institutions for scientific, educational and recruiting purposes.
• Attendance at national minority research conferences: Regular attendance of faculty members and students at ABRCMS and the Annual Undergraduate Research Conference of SACNAS.
• De-emphasis of standardized test scores in graduate admissions process.
• Strong involvement of current students in the graduate recruiting process.
• Revisit weekend for accepted URM and disadvantaged students: The Diversity Revisit Weekend provides accepted URM and disadvantaged students the opportunity to return to Washington University to explore in more depth and in a more relaxed environment all available educational and research programs.
• Enhanced opportunities for student orientation, advising and tutoring:
  • A pre-orientation program provides incoming graduate students with a jump-start on graduate school by helping them establish support networks and by raising awareness of and providing tips on how to overcome the key problems with which students struggle during graduate school.
  • Regular, individualized student-advising sessions with program directors and coordinators help establish personal contacts with students, which facilitate more rapid identification and resolution of problems that arise during graduate school.
  • A personalized program enables talented students to overcome difficulties in defined academic areas (e.g. classical genetics or public speaking) through one-on-one mentoring by faculty members.
• Raise awareness of disability resources for graduate students: During orientation the director of the Disability Resources Center (Cornerstone ) presents an overview of the services provided by the center to all incoming graduate students. The talk includes details on identification and assessment of learning styles and learning disabilities, and on the mechanisms for the accommodation of students with disabilities.

The Cell and Molecular Biology Umbrella Graduate Training Program is composed of four graduate programs: developmental biology, molecular cell biology, molecular genetics and genomics, and molecular microbiology and microbial pathogenesis. The CMB programs are contained within the Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, which consists of 12 graduate programs that together encompass all areas of biological/biomedical research.

Training Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology

Marilyn D. Resh, Ph.D.
212-639-2514
reshm@mskcc.org

For 2011: 5 of 62 (17 percent)

2011: 17 percent

URM enrollment has ranged from 7-28 percent over the past 5 years, with an average of 17 percent.
2007: 22 percent
2008: 10 percent
2009: 28 percent
2010: 7 percent
2011: 17 percent

WCGSMS Team Initiatives for the Active Recruitment of Minority Students

• The ACCESS Summer Program: The objective of the program is to bring underserved college students with an interest in biomedical research to the Weill Cornell Graduate School for 10 weeks to offer them: hands-on experience in a research laboratory under the mentorship of an experienced scientist; lectures and discussions aimed at enhancing an understanding of the current status of biomedical research, and the range of career opportunities available; workshops to sharpen their presentation and interview skills; and GRE course to prepare them for the examination.
• The Leadership Alliance: The graduate school actively participates and supports The Leadership Alliance in its quest to create leaders and role models for minority students. Every summer, Leadership Alliance students do research in laboratories at Weill Cornell under the mentorship of a graduate school faculty member. The students present their research at The Leadership Alliance National Symposium.
• Outreach: The associate dean and the assistant dean publicize the graduate school at the CUNY Macaulay Honors College Internship Fair. In addition, they visit colleges with large minority student population such as CUNY-Hunter College, CUNY-City College, CUNY-Brooklyn College and CUNY-Queens College. The associate dean and assistant dean also visited the campuses of the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, and the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras.
• Annual Open House: Over the past five years, the graduate school has organized an open house and invites students from local schools and the tri-state area to visit our campus. Prospective students have the opportunity to interact one on one with faculty members, speak with students and visit the facilities. The open house attracts underrepresented students who apply and enroll in the Weill Cornell Graduate School.
• NIH Graduate & Professional School Fair: The assistant dean attends this fair with students to actively recruit prospective student to the graduate school. The assistant dean has supported this initiative since its inception 4 years ago. Many of the NIH students also attend the annual open house we host each fall.
• Personalized letter: The associate dean sends personalized letters to students we meet at ABRCMS, SACNAS, The Leadership Alliance Symposium, the NIH Career Fair, the Open House and to Merck science fellows inviting them to apply to Weill Cornell Graduate School. The application fee is waived for these students.
• Special events for minority students during recruitment days: The minority graduate students organize a special coffee for minority applicants who attend the "Recruitment Days" in February. The recruits have the opportunity to interact one on one with our current students, thus affording them the opportunity to ask specific questions pertaining to student life.