Scientific Mentoring and Research Experiences Core

Scientific Mentoring and Research Experiences (SMRE) Core – Abstract: Training in alcohol research is necessary to equip the next generation of scientists. The NCCU alcohol research laboratories in the current proposal were developed through a previous funded partnership grant focused on developing independent alcohol investigators. A primary goal of the current proposal is to promote the development and training of the future generation of scientists, and this new Scientific Mentoring and Research Experiences Core (SMRE) directly addresses this goal. Importantly, this Core will increase productivity for each research component by mentoring NCCU students and supporting their expertise in complex scientific methods. UNC ARC and NCCU collaborative partnerships have always involved undergraduate and graduate URM students, but this proposal expands existing alcohol research collaborative partnerships with the additional goal of increasing student matriculation into alcohol research programs. By providing tailored experiences and infrastructure that enables student research success, we strengthen each component and facilitate student interests into lifelong biomedical careers. This includes mentoring in complex scientific methods for alcohol research projects, mentoring from multiple UNC ARC alcohol PIs, as well as professional development skills. NCCU is a strong teaching institution, with students comprising the bulk of the research workforce. Accordingly, in prior years of this partnership, we found that strengthening the alcohol research expertise of NCCU students improved the quality and productivity of each research project. We now propose focused initiatives to strengthen the scientific expertise of students in each research project. This includes mentoring in academic scholarship, scientific communication, grantsmanship, scientific rigor, responsible conduct of research, and complex scientific methods tailored for each scientific component. Increasing research skills and career coaching for NCCU students will promote student interest and benefit research project productivity, increasing successful discoveries that will help develop projects’ independent funding. To accomplish these goals, we propose to: (1) provide NCCU undergraduates with mentoring in complex scientific methods and career development to improve their scientific skills, (2) provide NCCU graduate students within collaborating components focused mentoring and instruction in complex methods tailored to each research component, and (3) facilitate laboratory mentors with evidence-based training in scientific mentorship. This Core will strengthen each component by providing resources to the scientific development of the students on each component.