Open AccessLong-term tracking demonstrates effectiveness of a partnership-led training program to advance the careers of biomedical researchers from underrepresented groups
Author(s) -
Beti Thompson,
Mary O’Connell,
Karen Peterson,
Michèle Shuster,
Marilyn Drennan,
Helena Löest,
Sarah Holte,
Julian A. Simon,
Graciela A. Unguez
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0225894
Subject(s) - workforce , medical education , tracking (education) , underrepresented minority , health equity , training (meteorology) , scope (computer science) , general partnership , medicine , gerontology , population , psychology , public health , political science , nursing , pedagogy , computer science , physics , environmental health , meteorology , law , programming language
The demographic profile of the biomedical workforce in the U.S. does not reflect the population at large, raising concerns that there will be insufficient trained researchers in the future, and the scope of research interests will not be sufficiently broad. To diversify and expand the pool of researchers trained to conduct research on cancer and cancer health disparities, a series of training activities to recruit and train primarily Hispanic students at both the undergraduate and graduate level were developed. The strengths of both a Hispanic Serving Institution and an NIH-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center were leveraged to develop appropriate research training and professional development activities. The career progression of the participants and degree completion rates was tracked, along with persistent interest in biomedical research in general and cancer and cancer health disparities research in particular for these underrepresented individuals. Finally, this report demonstrates that these training activities increased general knowledge about cancer among participants.