Conference: Broadening Access to Research Opportunities in South Central EPSCoR States

This project supports holding a conference that will broaden the reach of NSF-funded research across five states located in the south-central region of the United States that have historically received less than average NSF funding. Principal Investigators (PIs) from different types of institutions across the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi will be invited to participate and will be given the opportunity to gain new knowledge on how to develop well-designed research projects and craft strong research proposals that will enhance their competitiveness in securing NSF grants. NSF officers representing the four different clusters within the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) will also attend the conference and will provide information on the different types of funding opportunities available at the NSF and insights into the grant proposal application process. The conference will be held at Hendrix College, a small liberal arts college and predominantly undergraduate institution (PUI) located in Conway, Arkansas. Invitations will be extended to PIs from other PUIs as well as Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and Research Institutions (R1s, R2s). A particular focus will be placed on ensuring strong representation of women investigators and investigators from groups historically under-represented in STEM. During the conference, participants will have ample opportunities to interact with each other and will be encouraged to explore possible collaborations that could enhance cross-institutional connections and lead to stronger grant proposal applications. The overall impact of the conference will be quite extensive as it will not only directly benefit the participants, but it will be further amplified as PIs will likely share their newly acquired knowledge with colleagues at their home institutions and beyond. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.