Research Advising and Mentoring Professionals for Underrepresented Peoples (RAMP UP)

University Of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary The biomedical workforce fails to represent the diverse makeup of the US population. Numerous groups, including Indigenous and those from rural backgrounds, are significantly underrepresented in this workforce that addresses health concerns of local and global significance. To support Indigenous students and others from historically underrepresented backgrounds, our Research Advising and Mentoring Professionals for Underrepresented Peoples (RAMP UP) program will build on successes, experiences, and lessons learned from UAF's Biomedical Learning and Student Training (BLaST), our NIH-funded Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BuILD) program. Specifically, RAMP UP will develop, deliver, and evaluate a holistic and customized mentor training program that focuses on supporting faculty, graduate students, and research staff located at institutions that serve underrepresented undergraduate students in biomedical research. This intensive, year-long training program, augmented with continuing support from RAMP UP staff and network resources, will administer a supportive and culturally appropriate approach to create a network of mentors who possess the knowledge and skills they require to provide academic advising, research mentoring, and psychosocial support to the students they serve; especially those students who are typically underrepresented in the biomedical fields.