Dynamic Experiences in Neuroscience to Diversify Research Internship Training Exposure for Students (DENDRITES)

ABSTRACT The Dynamic Experiences in Neuroscience to Diversify Research Internship Training Exposures for Students (DENDRITES) Program aims to encourage and support the research and career development of underrepresented minorities (URM) students interested in basic, clinical, and translational neuroscience. The DENDRITES Program will accomplish this by executing three specific aims. The first aim is to expose undergraduate students to an intensive nine-week mentored summer research experience by pairing students with an experienced scientific mentor that will introduce students to robust and rigorous research experiences. The goal is for URM undergraduate students to get hands-on research experience which will expose them to cutting-edge neuroscience research and solidify the students’ commitment to research careers. The second aim is to leverage the Leadership Alliance Summer Research – Early Identification Program (SR-EIP) at UChicago to facilitate the transition to graduate programs. To accomplish this aim, we will collaborate with the SR-EIP to offer professional development workshops which will improve DENDRITES participants’ skills and qualifications to make them competitive candidates when applying for graduate school. In addition, we have created unique activities for DENDRITES participants such as cluster groups meetings and a seminar series led by graduate students. These activities will provide educational resources and experiences which visiting URM students would otherwise not receive at their home institutions. Finally, by collaborating with the University of Chicago SR-EIP program DENDRITES participants will be able to attend the Leadership Alliance National Symposium which will allow students to present and disseminate their summer research. The third aim is to recruit students historically underrepresented in academia to diversify the neuroscience workforce. By familiarizing students with UChicago, its opportunities, and its faculty members, our program will facilitate students’ later application and potential acceptance into highly-competitive graduate schools. Overall, the long- term goal of the DENDRITES Program is to diversify the neuroscience workforce by creating a strong pipeline of young neuroscience researchers who can make significant contributions to neuroscience discoveries.