Importance of Undergraduate Research for Minority Persistence and Achievement in Biology

Capacity-Building for Career Paths in Public Health and Biomedical Research for Undergraduate Minority Students: A Jackson Heart Study Success Model

“…The JHS Scholars Program includes features of several components of similar programs including: Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences and Course-Based Research Experiences; 20 Junge et al op.cit. 7 ; and Bangera and Brownell.…”

Meeting Society's Needs for Education and Discovery: A Survey of Eight Field Stations and Marine Laboratories in the Southeastern United States

“…The opportunity for undergraduates to engage in original research increases both understanding of the scientific process (Lopatto 2007, Brownell et al 2012) and recruitment of students into science careers (Hunter et al 2007, Russell et al 2007). These types of activities can lead to a greater retention of biology majors in the first two years (Jones et al 2010), which is key to increasing the STEM workforce (PCAST 2012).…”

“…FSMLs can help build a future generation of interdisciplinary scientists that reflect the changing face of research in the United States. Underrepresented minorities, like most students, respond positively to the research experiences that FSMLs can provide (Jones et al 2010); unfortunately, FSMLs are often located far from urban centers and diverse populations. Making the benefits of FSMLs accessible to minorities may require focused efforts.…”

Phage on the stage

“…A wide range of students from diverse backgrounds is doing the work and benefitting from the experience: honors students, underrepresented populations, at-risk students, science majors and non-majors. [12][13][14][15] As sequencing costs continue to go down and bioinformatics programs become more accessible, such courses are becoming real options for any undergraduate program and even high schools. The cost of a phage discovery lab is now similar to the cost of any other introductory lab, and genomic analysis experiences are virtually free, assuming computer resources.…”

“…Further, this is an excellent opportunity to engage minorities, women and first generation college students in STEM careers. [12][13][14][15] Students who take a phage course are more confident of themselves as scientists, and are, in their own words, "in love" with science. Based on our several years of experience and discussions with other faculty, we present below what we think are critical components for a successful research course using bacteriophage discovery and analysis:…”