Initiative to Maximize Student Diversity at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center 2021

This application for an Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) T32 program requests support for predoctoral trainees within the umbrella Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (BSGP) at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNM-HSC). The BSGP provides a broad base of academic coursework followed by in-depth training in a chosen discipline with a research mentor. The goal of this IMSD program is to supplement this training with additional activities in writing and speaking, a strong cohort peer-mentoring program and additional institutional support programs. Through enhanced recruitment, retention and career development programs the IMSD at UNM aims to increase the number of highly trained and skilled PhD graduates to enter the Biomedical workforce from New Mexico and the Southwestern US.
The BSGP has a long history of training students with exceptional promise from New Mexico and the Southwestern US, which will assist the IMSD in recruiting a strong pool of trainees. Currently, more than one-third of our PhD students are from New Mexico, including many from rural parts of the state. Additionally, the IMSD leadership has developed relationships with regional institutions that we will utilize to further increase recruitment.
A proposed system of Learning Communities will provide faculty and peer mentoring in a supportive environment to assist retention and student success. Each Learning Community includes a faculty mentor along with IMSD students from each academic class to provide a place to discuss challenges and celebrate successes with peers. Students are introduced to Learning Communities at a four-week summer program that orients students to the UNM-HSC campus, provides an opportunity to begin their first research rotation and uses cohort building exercises and training workshops to integrate new students into the UNM community and to individual Learning Communities.
After summer orientation, students have two semesters of core coursework before choosing a research mentor to oversee their dissertation research. All research mentors must complete rigorous training and will be reviewed annually. Career development programs will expose students to non-academic careers in biomedical sciences including a seminar series in Non-Academic Careers, networking exercises and options to get a transcripted certificate in University Science Teaching and a concentration in Science and Technology Management. More than fifty productive and collaborative faculty members from basic science and clinical departments are available to serve as faculty research mentors while Learning Community mentors and education specialists will provide non-research mentoring. Students will be selected during the admissions process as outlined in our trainee selection plan for a three-year appointment with post-IMSD support provided by individual fellowships or mentor-provided funding. Evaluation of the IMSD will be done in consultation with experts in evaluation of education efficacy of students in biomedical fields within the Office of Program Evaluation, Education, and Research Office in the UNM-HSC. All program alumni will be tracked by the BSGP office with annual updates on de-identified trainee outcomes published on our website and disseminated in workshops and published reports presented by our education specialists. Administrative support will be provided by the UNM-HSC School of Medicine Research Education Office, home to the BSGP.

Grant Number: 5T32GM144834-05
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Bryce Chackerian