Research Project
10405382
The MARC U-STAR program at San Francisco State University is in year four of our fourth 5-year cycle. During the first 19 years, the SFSU MARC program has successfully trained 142 BS graduates with 132 entering Graduate Programs (88 PhD, 9 MD, and 35 MS programs), 48 past MARC students completing PhD degrees, and another 40 currently enrolled in PhD programs. The SFSU MARC program has grown to improve training outcomes, as evidenced by ten MARC scholars entering top PhD programs this year. The SFSU MARC program aims to increase the number of academically competitive underrepresented minority undergraduates entering and completing PhD programs in the biomedical sciences. The SFSU MARC program proposes to support 24 highly qualified underrepresented minority junior/senior students each year. The training program will provide the trainees with a rigorous science curriculum while providing them with high quality and stimulating research experiences. The SFSU MARC-U*STAR Honors program consists of five major components: 1) Improve science literacy of our students by providing supplemental writing instruction within the discipline; 2) A summer entry intramural research experience that includes scholarly activities; 3) A two-year academic-year curriculum with a Honors course in Genetics, Chemistry or Computing, four semesters of Honors Colloquia, four semesters of biomedical science & Minority Speakers seminars, professional skills development, and four semesters of independent research; 4) Extramural summer research at a major research institution; 5) Extensive professional, academic, near-peer and peer mentoring, including forming mentoring networks with SFSU MARC alumni. All MARC trainees will present their research results at scientific meetings and be supported in preparing work for journal publications. The MARC trainees will also receive preparation for the GRE exam and extensive training in responsible conduct in research. Our objective is to provide the trainees an integrated research experience that mirrors what they will experience in graduate school, by making them part of the preceptor?s research team. For their extramural research experience, MARC students will be placed in top research institutions located across the United States. The program director and co-program director will be responsible for the administration of the program; SFSU MARC program policy will be developed by a ten-member Advisory Committee. Recruitment, advisement, placement in extramural internships and tracking of MARC-U*STAR trainees will be the joint responsibility of the MARC faculty, MARC Advisory committee, and administrative team. Records will be maintained that will allow us to carefully monitor each trainee's progress at SFSU, and document their success in their respective PhD programs, and in their biomedical research careers. The MARC-U*STAR program will be evaluated by SageFox Associates in conjunction with the other student support programs administered by the Student Enrichment Opportunities (SEO) office.
