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DPC Newsletter Vol. 7, Issue 2

In This Edition

July 29, 2022

DPC Newsletter Vol. 7, Issue 2
Celebrating the BUILD Class of 2022

NIH DPC Newsletter

Consortium News

BUILDing Future Researchers: Spotlight on UAF BLaST Alumna Samantha Wade, Class of 2022

Seeing firsthand the lack of healthcare in her hometown of Wainwright—an underserved, mostly Indigenous community of Iñupiat people on the northernmost coast of Alaska with a population of around 500—is what inspired Samantha Wade to pursue a career in science. Read about how her time in the BLaST research training program at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks helped her turn her passion into a career in our first Class of 2022 spotlight.
For more information click here.

CSULB BUILD Celebrates Grads with Commencement and Welcomes New Cohort

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, CSULB BUILD celebrated their graduating students with an in-person commencement ceremony on campus. As they said goodbye to the outgoing trainees, they welcomed their newest cohort with an in-person meet & greet to kick off their Summer Undergraduate Research Gateway to Excellence (SURGE) program.
For more information click here.

PSU BUILD EXITO Celebrates Cohort 5 and Welcomes Many More with Summer Research Academy

PSU BUILD EXITO kicked off the summer in May with an end-of-year celebration for PSU BUILD EXITO’s Cohort 5 scholars, who experienced the program mostly remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also welcomed new EXITO students and the PSU community with their Summer Research Academy.
For more information click here.

UTEP BUILDing SCHOLARS Graduates Offer Special Thanks to Their Community

“Often, women in competitive fields will doubt their abilities and see themselves as underqualified and thus not apply for higher positions. Getting out of that mindset was definitely a struggle, but the support given to me in my undergraduate years from mentors, professors, and family made it possible.” — Read about recent UTEP graduate Aparna Mangadu and more words of wisdom from BUILDing SCHOLARS alumni of the Class of 2022.
For more information click here.

A Look at MSU ASCEND Alumni Today

Catch up with MSU ASCEND alumni: Nashae Prout, a PhD student at the University of Rochester and founder of Us Black Girls in Science, and Layschel Kemp, a clinical research assistant at the University of Maryland.
For more information click here.

DPC Celebrates Advancing Capacity at 2022 Annual Grantees Conference 

Two themes emerged from the 2022 annual Diversity Program Consortium conference: there is much to get done and little time to do it, and connection is key when doing research. Read about how consortium members from across the country came together to share knowledge and lessons learned from their work to enhance diversity.
For more information click here.

PSU BUILD EXITO’s Carlos Crespo, DrPH, to Become Dean at University of Illinois Chicago

PSU BUILD EXITO says farewell to Dr. Carlos Crespo, celebrating his immeasurable impact as Co-Principal Investigator
For more information click here.

XULA BUILD’s Project Pathways Funds Virtual Reality Equipment for Biology Students

Virtual reality (VR) equipment has the power to improve students’ ability to comprehend complex and difficult science concepts. Learn about zSpace, a XULA BUILD-funded VR program that provides biology students a 360-degree immersive and interactive experience.
For more information click here.

CSULB BUILD Hosts Spring Community Events

CSULB BUILD hosted multiple events in Spring 2022 including a cultural picnic, research poster session and mentor luncheon at the beach.
For more information click here.

UMBC STEM BUILD Trainees have rewarding internship experience at NIDA

STEM BUILD trainees share about their positive internship experiences at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in Baltimore.
For more information click here.

Xavierite Farhana Islam Places 2nd in NIH Competition

Xavierite junior Farhana Islam won second place in a STEM competition sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Islam, a public health major, was inspired to pursue a public health career after witnessing her family’s difficulties accessing proper healthcare resources in Bangladesh.
For more information click here.

UAF BLaST Faculty Jeff McFarlane Receives NIH Grant to Expand Pilot Project

For the next four years, UAF BLaST professor Jeff McFarlane, PhD, will receive $125K annually to expand his pilot project, which is focused on characterizing polyamine biosynthetic enzymes from the human gut microbiome associated with disease processes such as colon cancer.
For more information click here.

SF BUILD Postdoctoral Fellow Cathy Samayoa Hired as SF State Faculty

SF BUILD postdoctoral fellow Cathy Samayoa, PhD, has been hired as a tenure-track faculty in the department of biology at San Francisco State University.
For more information click here.

NRMN-CC Launches New Mentor Training Curriculum

The National Research Mentoring Network’s Coordinating Center has launched “Mentor Training for Research Development Professionals,” a new curriculum for training mentors of research development professionals.
For more information click here.

Re-imagining the #FaceOfScience with the NIH Research Training Community

On May 4, the DPC’s Enhance Science project engaged the @NIHgov biomedical research training community with the second annual #FaceOfScience social media campaign—just one example of how the DPC Enhance Science project increases media representation of scientist diversity.
For more information click here.

Faces Of Science: Where Are They Now?

In Fall 2019, the CEC interviewed 10 undergraduate students participating in the Diversity Program Consortium’s BUILD programs at universities across the country for the Face Of Science video series. Where are they now? Catch up with the stars of the Enhance Science #FaceOfScience media project to see where these BUILD alums are headed next in their journeys as scientists.
For more information click here.
In The News

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS, Joins JAMA and the JAMA Network™ as Editor in Chief

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS—a San Francisco State University BUILD program Principal Investigator at their partner institution, University of California, San Francisco—has stepped down as inaugural Vice Dean for Population Health and Health Equity and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics to become the editor in chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the JAMA Network.
For more information click here.

UAF BLaST Scholar Edie Mari Helps Launch Future Ocean Podcast

University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) BLaST scholar Edie Mari played an integral role in launching the Alaska Ocean Acidification Network’s (AOAN) Future Ocean Podcast as the organization’s Engagement Specialist. Mari gave an interview that was published on the AOAN website in December 2021.
For more information click here.

NRMN U01 Investigators Vineet Arora and Angela Byars-Winston Receive Awards

Congratulations to NRMN U01 investigators Vineet Arora & Angela Byars-Winston on their recent awards and recognitions! Aurora was awarded the 2022 Innovations to Bolster Community Trust and Engagement in Science Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and Byars-Winston was awarded the Distinguished Educator Award for Mentorship Innovation from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS).
For more information click here.

Blog post from NIH COSWD Marie Bernard: Research Project Grant Funding Rates and Principal Investigator Race and Ethnicity

NIH has long collected self-designated demographic information on scientists designated as Principal Investigators (PIs) or Key Personnel and used this information to gain insights into the NIH-supported biomedical research workforce.
For more information click here.
Research Digest

What is Unconscious Bias? NRMN Explores in Recent Publication

Being aware and managing one’s unconscious bias is critical to diversifying STEMM disciplines! Read about a recent study by the National Research Mentoring Network to learn how its innovative Unconscious Bias Course impacted participants.
For more information click here.

Recent CSULB BUILD Publications on Undergraduate Research Training and Student Perceptions

Read about two recent publications authored from CSULB BUILD, with summaries from the authors.
For more information click here.

Recent NRMN Coordination Center Publications and Podcast Feature

Read three recent publications from the National Research Mentoring Network Coordinating Center. Also check out a recent episode of NINDS's “Building Up the Nerve" podcast featuring NRMN-CC members.
For more information click here.

Blog post from NIH COSWD Marie Bernard: Research Project Grant Funding Rates and Principal Investigator Race and Ethnicity

NIH has long collected self-designated demographic information on scientists designated as Principal Investigators (PIs) or Key Personnel and used this information to gain insights into the NIH-supported biomedical research workforce. 
For more information click here.
Events

ABRCMS Conference: Nov. 9-12 in Anaheim, CA

Event Date: Wed, Nov 09, 2022 to Sat, Nov 12, 2022

Location: Anaheim, CA

Webinar: “Work-home Life Balance for People with Families in Science” by the ASCB

Event Date: Wed, Aug 24, 2022

Location: https://www.ascb.org/ascb-meetings/work-home-life-balance-for-people-with-families-in-science/

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 .