Summer Mentoring and Research in Transdisciplinary Methodologies in Neuroscience of Drug-Addiction (SMART MIND)

Summer Mentoring and Research in Transdisciplinary Methodologies in Neuroscience of Drug- addiction (SMART MIND) is a summer program aimed at providing a streamlined and effective training experience that increases knowledge and research skills in neuroscience and drug abuse for undergraduate students and high school student-teacher teams. SMART MIND combines education, innovative research in state-of-the-art facilities, training in bioethics, one-on-one and group mentoring, and professional development. Participants will be immersed in research projects directed by a multi-disciplinary group of 12 neuroscientists with established and funded interdisciplinary collaborations. The projects center on behavioral and biological factors that contribute to addiction and the biochemical pathways leading to neurodegeneration, behavioral plasticity, learning, and memory. In addition to obtaining research experience, high school teachers are guided in the development of novel curricula, didactic seminars in science education, and various outreach activities that will foster implementation of the learning objectives in their home high schools. The summer 2024 cohort consisted of 12 undergraduate students, 3 of which were external to UTEP. The cohort balance of local El Paso area students and visiting students helps increase our program’s reach outside of the El Paso region while remaining true to our objective of promoting student training in neuroscience research. Over the course of the entire grant, the program has funded 142 participants in total. Participants included 47 UTEP students, 3 EPCC students, 8 students from El Paso high schools, 20 teachers from El Paso high schools, and 65 students from universities across the country.