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Volume 1, Issue 8

In This Edition

June 21, 2016

Volume 1, Issue 8

NIH DPC Newsletter

Consortium News

Why is “social integration” considered important for college persistence?

"Social integration" is widely regarded as an essential component of success in college. This short article summarizes some of the predominant theoretical underpinnings as to why, as well as the importance of further empirical research in understanding experiences of "social integration" amongst under-represented groups.
For more information click here.

Special Issue Update

Thank you to all our DPC partners who have been working diligently on the Special Issue Chapters. The Special Issue Publication will be highlighting the tremendous work that has been done in the implementation of the BUILD and NRMN programs and the opportunities for future research on promoting diversity within the biomedical sciences.
For more information click here.
People in Biomedicine

UTEP Professor Named Texas Inventor of the Year

Marc B. Cox, Ph.D., associate professor of biological sciences, co-director of the Toxicology and Cancer Cluster within the Border Biomedical Research Center, and deputy director of The BUILDing SCHOLARS Center at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), has recently been selected as the 2016 Texas Inventor of the Year by the State Bar.
For more information click here.
In The News

UTEP Recieves $725K Grant to Increase Female Enrolment in Engineering

EL PASO HERALD-POST reports “the University of Texas at El Paso has received a $725,000 grant from Educate Texas as part of its Texas Regional Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Degree Accelerator initiative. The pioneering grant program is an opportunity to sync faculty and employers toward the goal of empowering students with the knowledge and skills that equal strong careers. UTEP will spearhead the engineering portion of the initiative, specifically by increasing female enrollment and graduation in engineering and training more engineering faculty of any gender.”
For more information click here.

Underrepresented Groups Need Hand Up, Not Handout, in STEM Education

In an Op-Ed in US News & World Report , Vince Bertram writes about middle-school students in the nation's capital set to take part in a new technology-education program in late June that will teach them, among other things, 3-D modeling and app development. As he puts it "these initiatives represent a moral and economic imperative for our nation's children". Read the entire article here:
For more information click here.

Historically Black Colleges Need to Help LGBT Students

Advocate reports that Rev. Cedric A. Harmon's organization, “Many Voices", partnered with Morgan State University to produce a new video, My God Too: Black LGBTQ Students Speak OUT. The video features interviews of LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ ally students, who share their personal stories about how they have been impacted by traditional black church teachings regarding gender and sexuality. Their stories of isolation, fear, and rejection from the church are juxtaposed with stories about how they are accepted and welcome at Morgan State, and they bring forward a hopeful vision of what is possible if the black community chooses to engage in social justice awareness at the intersection of sexuality, gender, and spirituality.
For more information click here.

USC releases student and faculty diversity numbers

USC News reports "USC’s recently released student and faculty diversity numbers provide a gauge for measuring the university’s results so far. Among the highlights: USC earns the top spot for enrolling more underrepresented minority students than any other private institution in the Association of American Universities. The school also leads the nation’s universities in enrolling the most underrepresented minority graduate student."
For more information click here.

The Common Habit That Undermines Organizations' Diversity Efforts

Fast Company reports “female doctors are frequently mistaken for nurses or medical students. Female lawyers are assumed to be paralegals or secretaries or court reporters. Female systems administrators are mistaken for personal assistants when their desks are near their boss’s”
For more information click here.

This Is the Best Major For Every Wannabe CEO

Fortune reports “there many reasons diversity matters in the world of engineering, especially given demographic trends. The Census Bureau predicts that by 2043 the United States will become a “majority-minority” country, in which no racial group makes up more than half of the population. If, as in recent years, only a modest number of under-represented groups continue to study engineering at U.S. universities, then the shortage of home-grown engineers relative to the size of the population will only grow more acute. Equally important, recent research has shown that diversity unlocks innovation—the heart of technology and engineering. If we are to ensure that we maintain our innovative edge in the coming decades, we need to do three things…”
For more information click here.

Meet The Scientists Fighting For More Studies On Genes And Racial Differences In Health

BuzzFeed News reports Esteban Burchard, a professor at UCSF and recently Named to Expert Panel for Obama’s Precision Medicine Plan, is “angry that people of color are being sidelined by a medical revolution spawned by the Human Genome Project. He’s angry that when non-white scientists apply for federal dollars to try and turn things around, they find the deck stacked against them. And he’s angry that he, a middle-aged Latino man with a wrestler’s build, can’t walk his dogs without getting stopped by the police.”
For more information click here.

Cal State LA's NASA Careers Program Taking Underrepresented Students to New Heights

California Council on Science and Technology reports “a $5 million grant from NASA's Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) helped create the NASA Data Intensive Research and Education Center in STEM (NASA DIRECT-STEM) at Cal State LA. The program allowed Cal State LA to recruit highly competitive, historically underrepresented students, giving them the opportunity to work directly with researchers at JPL as well as University of California Irvine. This inaugural cohort of students have gained valuable experience in scientific computing and data analysis related to earth and space sciences - setting them off on PhD career paths in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.”
For more information click here.

CSUN Prof Studies How Social Status Can Affect a Teen’s Health

CSUN Today reports the “perception of our social status in school, may have had an adverse effect on our health, according to a new study by California State University, Northridge child and adolescent development professor Virginia Huynh. Huynh and her colleague, UCLA researcher Jessica Chiang, looked at how teenagers’ perceptions of their social status in society and at school affected their”
For more information click here.
Research Digest

Comings and Goings

Please join us in thanking and welcoming those who are joining or leaving the DPC! As a new feature on the Consortium Newsletter, this section will provide updates on the coming and goings of DPC personnel and individuals associated with the consortium. For more on our new team members and members transitioning to new roles, read on.
For more information click here.

Navigating NIH Grant Applications

Addressing issues surrounding the low number of applications and re-submissions NIH receives from under represented minorities and the relatively low percent of these that get ultimately funded are just some of the reasons why NIH supported the creation of the National Research Mentoring Network. “Writing a grant application is something that's taught, not something you figure out,” according to Richard McGee, Associate Dean for Professional Development at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine and an NRMN founder.
For more information click here.

New Logo for The Biomedical Diversity Program Consortium is here!

After much deliberation and input from all members of our Consortium's Communication Working Group and Executive Steering Committee, the Consortium is proud to present THE new Biomedical Diversity Program Consortium Logo. Going forward, this logo should be used on all relevant correspondence within the Consortium and also in correspondence with our various partners.
For more information click here.

Open Position for an Internal Evaluator/Assessment Specialist

Xavier University of LA, a Historically Black and Catholic University located in New Orleans, invites applications for the position of Internal Evaluator/Assessment Specialist for the NIH-funded BUILD Program, Project Pathways. The Internal Evaluator/Assessment Specialist reports to the Vice President for Planning, Institutional Research, and Assessment and the BUILD Program Principal Investigators.
For more information click here.

Diversity Consortium's Webinar Series - NRMN Presenting

On Friday June 24th, NRMN will deliver a Consortium wide presentation on their new structure and activities. Stay tuned for more.
For more information click here.

Open Position for an Executive Director/Principal Investigator

Boston College is seeking an Executive Director/PI to oversee the Administrative Core of the National Research Mentoring Network. The individual should be an accomplished scientific professional with intimate knowledge of the NIH-funded biomedical science research enterprise, as well as a dynamic skill set related to organization leadership on a national scale.
For more information click here.

In Case You Missed It: Watch iBiology and NRMN's "Negotiating an Academic Position”

Now viewable online, this Google Hangout, hosted by iBiology and the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) featured Dr. Raychelle Burks, Dr. Omar Quintero, and Dr. Kassandra Ori-Mckenney. Dr. Burks, MS, PhD, is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Doan College. Dr. Quintero, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Richmond. Dr. Ori-Mckenney, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at University of California, Davis.
For more information click here.

UTEP BUILD Scholar Presents Research at Capitol Hill

Congratulations to recent UTEP BUILD graduate Cecilia Hinojosa who presented her research at Capitol Hill and met with Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke during the 20th annual Posters on the Hill showcase April 19-20 sponsored by the national Council on Undergraduate Research.
For more information click here.

Special Announcement: Okuyemi named Endowed Chair for Health Equity Research

The Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) at the University of Minnesota (UMN) recently established an Endowed Chair for Health Equity Research. On May 5, 2016, Kola Okuyemi, MD, MPH was named as the inaugural recipient of this Endowment.
For more information click here.

Scholars say "Thank You!"

Five scholars from University of Detroit Mercy share why they are thankful for the ReBUILDetroit program.
For more information click here.

NIH IRP and Office for Scientific Workforce Diversity Hold April 2016 Series of Workshops led by Dr. Christine Pfund with Dr. Dennis Durban

One goal of the Mentor Training Core of NRMN is to improve mentoring relationships through research mentor training. This goal is shared by the NIH Intramural Research Program ("NIH IRP"). Thus, over two days in early April 2016, the NIH arranged three workshops led by Dr. Christine Pfund, Director of the NRMN Mentor Training Core.  The first workshop was sponsored by the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP); the second and third were sponsored by the NIH Office for Scientific Workforce Diversity.
For more information click here.

Culturally Aware Mentoring: A New Mentor Training Module

Training, education, and mentoring in the sciences is not working well for individuals from historically underrepresented groups. There is a need to address and attend to diversity issues in science, not just bringing diverse people into science. Accordingly, the NIH has issued a call for scientific approaches to broadening participation in the scientific workforce. To answer this call, the NRMN Mentor Training Core convened a national team of scholars who have worked to improve mentoring relationships. This team has developed a new training focused on culturally aware mentoring (CAM). The team, referred to as the CAM subgroup, is developing and launching trainings for both mentors and mentees and has, to date, begun piloting the mentor training curriculum.
For more information click here.

First annual Lab Coat Ceremony

ReBUILDetroit scholars from Marygrove College, University of Detroit Mercy and Wayne State University gathered as a cohort at the first annual Lab Coat Ceremony last month. The annual Lab Coat Ceremony celebrates a successful first-year experience and signifies the continuing research commitment to the scholars.  
For more information click here.
Events

2016 Diversity Consortium's Annual Meeting

Event Date: Tue, Oct 11, 2016 to Wed, Oct 12, 2016

Location: Long Beach, California

Diversity Consortium's Webinar Series

Event Date: Fri, Jun 24, 2016

The Allied Genetics Conference 2016

Event Date: Wed, Jul 13, 2016

Yeast Genetics Meeting

Event Date: Wed, Jul 13, 2016

SACNAS 2016 Summer Leadership Institute

Event Date: Mon, Jul 18, 2016

2016 ASM Scientific Writing and Publishing Course

Event Date: Fri, Aug 12, 2016 to Sun, Aug 14, 2016

Reminder: Register for SACNAS 2016

Event Date: Mon, Aug 01, 2016 to Wed, Oct 12, 2016

2016 SACNAS Conference

Event Date: Thu, Oct 13, 2016 to Sat, Oct 15, 2016

Location: Long Beach, California Long Beach Convention Center

SACNAS e-news: Best of 2015 conference

Event Date: Tue, Oct 13, 2015 to Thu, Oct 15, 2015

About Us

The NIH Diversity Program Consortium (DPC) Newsletter provides updates on activities at DPC sites, shares progress on collaborative efforts within the consortium, and highlights news and recent publications related to diversity and mentoring in the biomedical sciences.




The Diversity Program Consortium Coordination and Evaluation Center at UCLA is supported by Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health / National Institutes of General Medical Sciences under award number U54GM119024.
Need Assistance? Please contact our support team: info@diversityprogramconsortium.org .