UCSC Research Mentoring Internship Program: An Initiative to Increase Diversity and Inclusion in Genomics Research

University Of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Project? ?Summary The? ?UCSC? ?Diversity? ?Action? ?Plan? ?at? ?the? ?University? ?of? ?California,? ?Santa? ?Cruz? ?originated? ?in 2002? ?as? ?a? ?sub-award? ?of? ?the? ?UCSC? ?Genome? ?Browser.? ?On? ?the? ?UCSC? ?campus,? ?our? ?DAP? ?is known? ?as? ?the? ?Research? ?Mentoring? ?Internship? ?Program? ?(RMI),? ?a? ?research? ?education program? ?that? ?improves? ?equity? ?and? ?access? ?to? ?careers? ?in? ?genomic? ?science? ?by? ?increasing the? ?participation? ?of? ?underrepresented? ?minority? ?students.? ?The? ?RMI,? ?now? ?managed? ?by? ?the Genomics? ?Institute? ?Office? ?of? ?Diversity,? ?provides? ?mentored? ?research? ?training? ?and? ?financial support? ?for? ?underrepresented? ?minority? ?(URM)? ?students? ?in? ?both? ?undergraduate? ?and graduate? ?(pre-doctoral)? ?educational? ?training,? ?with? ?the? ?goal? ?of? ?preparing? ?and? ?advancing them? ?toward? ?successful? ?careers? ?in? ?genomic? ?science? ?or? ?its? ?ethical,? ?legal,? ?and? ?social implications? ?(ELSI).? ?Students? ?supported? ?by? ?the? ?RMI? ?are? ?assigned? ?to? ?a? ?faculty? ?research mentor? ?with? ?whom? ?they? ?train? ?10-20? ?hours? ?per? ?week.? ?Mentor? ?labs? ?may? ?be? ?in? ?any department? ?in? ?the? ?Division? ?of? ?Physical? ?and? ?Biological? ?Sciences? ?or? ?the? ?School? ?of Engineering,? ?provided? ?that? ?the? ?research? ?focuses? ?on? ?genomic? ?sciences? ?(e.g. computational? ?biology,? ?quantitative? ?sciences,? ?bioinformatics? ?and? ?technology development).? ?STEM? ?research? ?environments? ?may? ?be? ?wet? ?labs? ?or? ?computational? ?labs. ELSI? ?projects? ?are? ?usually? ?conducted? ?under? ?the? ?aegis? ?of? ?a? ?faculty? ?member? ?from? ?the Division? ?of? ?Social? ?Sciences,? ?and? ?commonly? ?approach? ?a? ?specific? ?aspect? ?of? ?genomics? ?in one? ?of? ?the? ?following? ?areas:? ?bioethics,? ?policy,? ?healthcare,? ?social? ?implications.? ?The? ?RMI provides? ?financial? ?support? ?in? ?the? ?form? ?of? ?scholarships? ?for? ?undergraduates? ?and? ?substantial fellowships? ?for? ?graduate? ?students.? ?In? ?addition? ?to? ?research? ?training,? ?the? ?program? ?offers academic? ?and? ?professional? ?development? ?workshops,? ?one-on-one? ?coaching,? ?and? ?career guidance.? ?The? ?program? ?exposes? ?students? ?to? ?the? ?culture? ?and? ?rigors? ?of? ?a? ?research environment? ?under? ?the? ?close? ?supervision? ?of? ?faculty? ?mentoring,? ?thus? ?enhancing preparation? ?for? ?and? ?success? ?in? ?graduate? ?school? ?and? ?beyond.? ?We? ?recruit? ?from? ?regional community? ?colleges? ?and? ?California? ?State? ?Universities? ?that? ?have? ?high? ?percentages? ?of students? ?from? ?low-income? ?and? ?underserved? ?populations.? ?To? ?ensure? ?successful persistence? ?to? ?degree? ?completion,? ?we? ?implement? ?retention? ?strategies? ?based? ?on? ?best practices? ?to? ?create? ?professional? ?support? ?and? ?programming? ?within? ?a? ?cutting-edge? ?research environment? ?that? ?provides? ?our? ?cohort? ?with? ?the? ?knowledge? ?and? ?tools? ?needed? ?to? ?advance to? ?meaningful? ?careers? ?in? ?genomics.