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Representing the Underrepresented

Representing the Underrepresented. Articulating the Experiences of Minority PhD Students in the Biomedical Sciences at IUSM Gina Sanchez Gibau Department of Anthropology IU School of Liberal Arts, IUPUI. Background. My Position Publish intervention results Serve on advisory committee

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Representing the Underrepresented

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  1. Representing the Underrepresented Articulating the Experiences of Minority PhD Students in the Biomedical Sciences at IUSM Gina Sanchez Gibau Department of Anthropology IU School of Liberal Arts, IUPUI

  2. Background • My Position • Publish intervention results • Serve on advisory committee • Serve as external mentor • Publication • Gibau, Gina Sanchez; Foertsch, Julie; Blum, Janice; Brutkiewicz, Randy; Queener, Sherry; Roman, Ann; Rhodes, Simon; Sturek, Michael; Wilkes, David; Broxmeyer, Hal. “Diversifying Biomedical Training: A Synergistic Intervention,” Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering 16(3): 215-235, 2010.

  3. Research Questions • What are the experiences of URM graduate students funded by NIH at IUSM? • Which experiences are most critical to their persistence? • How can these experiences inform and enhance intervention strategies?

  4. Goals • Obtain first-person accounts of student experiences in evaluating the effectiveness of the programs; • Evaluate their experiences and determine if they align with the intended goals of the programs; • IF their experiences were aligned with the goals, then we could observe the track of their success toward the PhD

  5. Bridges to the Doctorate An IUSM Intervention

  6. Goals and Objectives of the BRIDGES Program • Increase the number of URMs who matriculate in and graduate from Ph.D. programs in the basic medical sciences at IUSM or other doctoral granting institutions after completing their master’s degrees at partnering minority-serving institutions • Increase the number of URMs, in general, who pursue careers as independent research scientists and faculty members • Partnership with JSU and later CSUDH • Institutional Support: Executive Advisory Committee, Internal Advisory Committee, External evaluator

  7. Key Strategies Summer research opportunities Multiple funding paths (NIH and other funding agencies, combined with that from departments and the school) Multi-tiered mentoring and peer support Strong and committed Advisory Committee Educational and professional development opportunities Strong institutional partnerships

  8. Outcomes: At a Glance *Enrollment increase: from 3 in 2003 to 18 in 2008

  9. The Study The Use of Narrative Analysis

  10. Methods • document analysis • interview transcripts from external reviewer • five-year period • making meaning out of experiences • cohort analysis • year of entry • patterns and changes in the program over time • close coded analysis • patterns of themes • thematic structures

  11. Participants • IUSM/JSU Bridges to the Doctorate program • Participants in annual interviews with the external reviewer, from the period 2003 to 2008 • Purposeful sample • N = 17* • Interviews = 24 • Focus Groups = 1 (Cohort 5)

  12. Major Themes

  13. Benefits • Summer research in the lab • “…a really nice lab with a lot of nice equipment.” • Minority role models • “…It’s good to meet other African American scientists that have made it. So it’s kind of like inspiration…” • Professional development & career definition • “…I was able to find direction.” • Mentoring • “I have a person, and kind of advocate….” • Peer mentoring* • …I don’t think that either of us, …, would’ve been able to survive without the other one…”

  14. Challenges • Adjustment • Location • “There is an adjustment to two vastly different environments…” • Curriculum • “…Here you have multiple instructors.” • Status differentiation • “…sometimes when things happen with the minority students, it seems that everyone knows about it…” • “…everyone knew what grant number I was associated with…”

  15. Implications • Overall • Benefit greatly from the summer research experience • Depend upon a strong network of peers (including lab personnel) • Experience hypervisibility • Desire alternative frameworks (addressing needs) • By Cohort • Cohort 1-3: Transition to graduate school; change in environment; isolation • Cohort 4-6: Relying of previous cohorts (critical mass) • Cohort 6: Knowledge of competitive programs (funding)

  16. Enhancing Interventions • Institutions must be more open to the idea of “developing” URM scientists • Identifying experienced and willing mentors • Aggressive and intentional recruitment efforts and increased funding support are critical in attracting and matriculating qualified URM graduate students (Hung et. al. 2007). • Critical mass and institutional commitment • Considering the uses of social scientific inquiry (e.g., “hearing the stories”[ Davis et. al., 2004])

  17. Acknowledgements • National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medicine Sciences • Bridges to the Doctorate (NIH-NIGMS R25 GM065792) • Initiative for Maximizing Graduate Student Diversity (NIH-NIGMS R25 GM79657), or Edwin T. Harper Scholars Program • Dr. Hal Broxmeyer, Distinguished Professor  Chairman and Professor of Microbiology & Immunology;Co-Leader, Program on Hematopoiesis, Microenvironment, and Immunology, Indiana University Simon Cancer Center • Dr. Randy Brutkiewicz, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development • IU School of Liberal Arts, IUPUI • IU School of Medicine Bridges and Harper students

  18. References • Davidson, M.N., and Foster-Johnson, L., (2001) Mentoring in the Preparation of Graduate Researchers of Color, Review of Educational Research, 71(4), pp. 549–574. • Davis, M., Dias-Bowie, Y., Greenberg, K., Klukken, G., Pollio, H.R., Thomas, S.P., & Thompson, C.L. (2004). A fly in the buttermilk: Descriptions of university life by successful black undergraduate students at a predominantly white southeastern university. The Journal of Higher Education, 75, 420–445. • Hung, R., McClendon, J., Henderson, A., Evans, Y., Colquitt, R. and Saha, S., (2007) Student Perspectives on Diversity and the Cultural Climate at a U.S. Medical School, Acad. Med., 82(2), pp. 184-192. • Millett, C.M., and Nettles, M.T., (2006) Expanding and Cultivating the Hispanic STEM Doctoral Workforce: Research on Doctoral Student Experiences, Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 5(3), pp. 258-287. • Pasick, R.J., Otero-Sabogal, R., Nacionales, M.C.B., and Banks, P.J., (2003) Increasing Ethnic Diversity in Cancer Control Research: Description and Impact of a Model Training Program, J. Cancer Ed., 18(2), pp. 73-77. • Summers, M.F., and Hrabowski, F.A. III, (2006) Preparing Minority Scientists and Engineers, Science, 311, pp. 1870-1871.

  19. Thank You gsanchez@iupui.edu

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