Addressing underrepresentation in physiology research through internship opportunities

Abstract

A challenge in the undergraduate physiology landscape is that some students who are underrepresented in the biomedical sciences are not aware of or are unable to take advantage of laboratory research opportunities. This is unfortunate because lab research can provide students with unique skill sets that are beneficial for future success, whether the students remain in research or move on to other careers. These skills include opportunities for critical thinking, improvement of oral and written communication skills, development of teamwork and leadership skills, learning about ethics in biomedical decision making and enhancement of digital literacy among others. As a program that sponsors an undergraduate Human Physiology major that has been successful in attracting underrepresented students (>40% students of color and >60% female) for a major Land-grant university, we challenged ourselves to consider how we might help our students make the most of their physiological interests and potentially improve the demographics of representation in our discipline. Starting in the summer of 2020, a group of faculty began a series of meetings to define an undergraduate program that would attract underrepresented students to lab-based internships, minimize the need for outside work by providing stipends and nurture their academic progress through informal student-faculty interactions. Though delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, this framework has been used to initiate two new outreach programs. In the summer of 2021, we used this framework to initiate an American Heart Association sponsored research internship opportunity for 3rd and 4th year students. This program which we have named UPRIME is the focus of another abstract at this meeting. The INPUT (INtegrative biology and Physiology Undergraduate Training) program was started in fall of 2022. The program is internally supported and targets 1st and 2nd year undergraduates who represent populations that have been underrepresented in biomedical sciences. These students will be provided laboratory research experiences coupled with opportunities for educational support. A stipend of $3000 per student per semester is offered with the prospect of renewal dependent on a post-semester review. A cohort of six students were selected from a campus wide solicitation for applications into the inaugural INPUT class. These students will begin their projects in January 2023. We look forward to contributing to the scientific growth and development of these students. Perceptions of lab-based research and academic progress will be tracked along with career aspirations as the program progresses. Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of Minnesota Medical School This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.