MAXIMIZING STUDENT DIVERSITY IN THE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

Project Summary: Diversity at the molecular level has created the riot of life forms ever to exist on earth. Diversity of thought, perspective, and background among individuals working as part of a team enhances performance. The pursuit of scientific knowledge and excellence then demands the inclusion of students from all backgrounds. This application requests funds to support an Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program within the Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) at Washington University in St. Louis at the level of ten trainees, equal to our current level of support. The mission of our IMSD program is to increase the matriculation, training, retention, graduation, and career outcomes of outstanding PhD students from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences in order to help change the face of the next generation of scientists and thus increase the power of the STEM workforce in the US. Since its inception in 2013, our IMSD program has created 15 training elements that integrate seamlessly with PhD student training and research, bolstering the academic, professional, and career success of essentially all entering underrepresented (UR) PhD students and often all DBBS PhD students. Concentrated in years one to three, these training activities span our students’ graduate careers and focus on ensuring they surpass defined academic milestones, learn to think critically and to write and speak effectively about research, develop strong student support networks, explore career options, and can engage in community-based educational outreach activities. Since their creation, these activities and our IMSD Program have helped reduce and of late appear to have eliminated the previously persistent achievement gap between URM and well-represented students in terms of qualifying exam success and PhD student retention/completion. Our new IMSD Program will welcome all entering UR DBBS PhD students into it, ensuring that it remains the epicenter of academic, scientific, and career support for UR students in DBBS. We propose to support students for their first two years of graduate school and will preferentially select students who have overcome significant hardship for support. Over its nine-year history, our current IMSD program has increased UR student success and serves as the foundation for our new IMSD program. By focusing on excellence and innovation in graduate education and community-building, our new program will accelerate the tradition of scientific excellence in the US by increasing the presence and success of diverse scientists in our PhD programs and ultimately in the STEM workforce.