Short-Term Research Education Program to Expand Participation in Health-Related Research

Diseases of the heart, lungs, and blood are prevalent and continue to limit the health of U.S. citizens. To better diagnose, treat, and prevent these diseases we need to expand biomedical knowledge, which requires more people pursuing careers in biomedical research. Along with PhD scientists and physicians, veterinarians are an essential part of the health-related research enterprise as they conduct research important to human health through comparative studies and animal models. Furthermore, the health of animals directly impacts the health of people through shared diseases (zoonoses) and the need for healthy animal-based foods. Experiential learning by active engagement in research is an effective way to nurture the next generation of scientists and health care researchers. Thus, this proposal is designed to recruit and comprehensively immerse both undergraduate and veterinary medical students in summer research experiences on the campus of Michigan State University. These research experiences will be focused on three major areas: hypertension, airway disease, and blood cells and components in tissue pathology. The objective of our education research program is to increase the number of students who pursue biomedical research-related educational goals and career paths relevant to the mission areas of the NHLBI. The strategy to meet this objective involves 1) providing student participants an immersive research experience that exposes them to the various aspects of a research career, 2) cultivating participants’ interest in science by facilitating the development of mentor and peer networks, and creating conditions that support the participants’ research-related interests, and 3) fostering the participants’ successes so as to give them the guidance, tools, and confidence needed to pursue a research-related career. This strategy will be implemented through the following specific aims: (1) engage undergraduate and veterinary medical students in high-quality mentored research in the areas of heart, lung, and blood diseases; (2) provide comprehensive exposure to the various aspects of biomedical research through an organized program of activities; (3) bolster the trainees’ understanding of the critical concepts of responsible conduct of research; (4) recruit trainees into the biomedical sciences; and (5) conduct comprehensive evaluations to determine the effectiveness of our programming in increasing the number of students who pursue careers in health-related biomedical research.