Examples of NIGMS-Funded NRSA Training Programs with Notable Records Of Recruitment and Retention Of Underrepresented Minority Students

This page provides selected examples of NIGMS-funded National Research Service Award (NRSA) training programs that have had noteworthy achievement in the recruitment and retention of students from underrepresented minority groups. On average, these students constitute approximately 10 percent of the NRSA trainees. The programs identified here exceed this average and have had increasing success or have demonstrated marked improvement in recent years. NIGMS expects that the diversity of students in all its training programs will continue to increase and to be more representative of the general population. These programs, and their most effective recruitment and retention strategies, are offered as examples to inform and encourage the efforts of other training programs. The numbers and descriptions of each program's efforts were provided by the training grant program directors.

Comments, questions, and other examples of successful strategies can be entered on an online feedback form or sent to any NIGMS staff member who manages training grant programs.

Underrepresented Minority Representation in NIGMS-Funded Training Programs

For more detailed information on underrepresented minority (URM) representation in each training program, including data on recent trends and the most successful recruitment and retention strategies, click on the titles of the training programs listed here. Information provided is current as of September 2004.

Training Program	Institution(s)	Program Director	URM in Training Program*
Training in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Genetics	Albert Einstein College of Medicine	Pamela Stanley, Ph.D. (718) 430-3346 stanley@aecom.yu.edu	5 of 18 (28 percent)
University Program in Genetics and Genomics	Duke University	Joseph Heitman, M.D., Ph.D. (919) 684-2824 heitm001@duke.edu	11 of 75 (15 percent)
Cellular and Molecular Biology	Johns Hopkins University	Allen Shearn, Ph.D. (410) 516-4693 bio_cals@jhu.edu	5 of 16 (31 percent)
Integrated Training in Pharmacological Sciences	Mount Sinai School of Medicine	Srinivas R. Iyengar, Ph.D. (212) 659-1707 ravi.iyengar@mssm.edu	5 of 15 (33 percent)
Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology	New York University School of Medicine/Sackler Institute	Daniel Rifkin, Ph.D. (212) 263-5109 rifkid01@med.nyu.edu	4 of 20 (25 percent)
Synthesis and Structure of Biological Molecules	University of California, Irvine	Timothy F. Osborne, Ph.D. (949) 824-2979 tfosborn@uci.edu	1 of 12 (8 percent)
Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Program	University of California, Los Angeles	Steven G. Clarke, Ph.D. (310) 825-8754 clarke@mbi.ucla.edu	8 of 36 (22 percent)
Chemistry Biology Interface Predoctoral Program	University of California, San Francisco	Charles Craik, Ph.D. (415) 476-8146 craik@cgl.ucsf.edu	2 of 9 (22 percent)
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)	University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, University of Colorado-Boulder, and National Jewish Medical Research Center	Arthur Gutierrez-Hartmann, M.D. (303) 315-8986 a.gutierrez-hartman@UCHSC.edu	9 of 47 (19 percent)
Biotechnology Training Program	University of Virginia	Gordon W. Laurie, Ph.D. (434) 924-5250 glaurie@virginia.edu	4 of 19 (21 percent)
Chemistry-Biology Interface Predoctoral Program	University of Wisconsin, Madison	Laura Kiessling, Ph.D. (608) 262-0541 kiessling@chem.wisc.edu	3 of 11 (27 percent)
Molecular Biosciences Training Grant	University of Wisconsin, Madison	David A. Brow, Ph.D. (608) 262-1475 dabrow@wisc.edu	14 of 74 (19 percent)
Weill Cornell/ Rockefeller/ Sloan-Kettering MST Program	Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences Sloan-Kettering Institute The Rockefeller University	Olaf S. Andersen, M.D. (212) 746-6023 sparre@med.cornell.edu	24 of 102 (24 percent)
Predoctoral Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB)	Yale University	Lynn Cooley, Ph.D. (203) 785-5067 lynn.cooley@yale.edu	6 of 40 (15 percent)

Training Program:	Training in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Genetics (CMBG)
Institution:	Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
Program Director:	Pamela Stanley, Ph.D. (718) 430-3346 stanley@aecom.yu.edu Alternate Contacts Anne Etgen, Ph.D., coordinator of minority recruitment etgen@aecom.yu.edu Victoria Freedman, Ph.D., associate director Sue Golding Graduate Division vfreedma@aecom.yu.edu
URM in Training Program:	Students matriculate into the Sue Golding Graduate Division, including students who are entering in the summer (M.D.-Ph.D.) and fall (Ph.D.) of 2003. The Ph.D. candidates include M.D.-Ph.D. students in the Ph.D. phase of their training.
URM in Ph.D. Umbrella Program (Sue Golding Graduate Division):	51 of 318 (16 percent)
URM in CMBG Training Program:	5 of 18 (28 percent)
URM in Most Recent CMB Entering Class:	8 of 39 (21 percent)
Recent Trends:	The most impressive trends concern the number of students graduating with advanced degrees. From 1994-1998, 4 students graduated with M.D.-Ph.D. degrees and 5 graduated with Ph.D.s. From 1999-2004, 7 students earned M.D.-Ph.D. degrees (a 40 percent increase) and 21 graduated with a Ph.D. degree (more than a fourfold increase). After a decline in applications to the Ph.D. program during 2002 (attributed to concerns following the attack on New York City on September 11, 2001), there has been a resurgence in applications to the highest level ever attained (29 training grant-eligible minority applicants, 5 of whom will matriculate in the fall of 2004).
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Aggressive recruiting both locally and nationally: involvement of faculty and students in recruitment and orientation activities; consistent presence at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and the California Diversity Forum; and, targeted visits by faculty and student alumni to individual campuses with high minority enrollment. De-emphasis of standardized test scores in admissions decisions. Individualized curriculum and regularly scheduled personalized academic advising in first year. "Critical Mass" that enables formation of a student organization.
Comments:	Students are recruited into the umbrella graduate program of the Sue Golding Graduate School or into the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP or M.D./Ph.D.). The total enrollment numbers reported above include students in both programs. After the first (Ph.D. students) or second (MSTP students) year, trainees are selected for the CMBG training grant program, thus two sets of numbers are provided.

Training Program:	University Program in Genetics and Genomics (UPGG)
Institution:	Duke University
Program Director:	Joseph Heitman, M.D., Ph.D. (919) 684-2824 heitm001@duke.edu
URM in Training Program:	11 of 75 (15 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	2 of 20 (10 percent)
Recent Trends:	The 11 currently enrolled URM students were admitted from (1998-2004.) In contrast, no URM students entered in the 5 year period from 1993-1997.
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	The Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP), which was co-founded by UPGG faculty member and former training grant program director Kenneth Kreuzer, has recruited several minority students to Duke, including two current UPGG trainees. The activities of the SROP are being complemented by a newly instituted Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) that is funded by a grant from NIGMS. The PI is Kenneth Kreuzer, a UPGG faculty member and current training grant program director for the Duke University Cellular and Molecular Biology Program. UPGG faculty members have visited a number of institutions with high levels of URM students, and exchange programs have been established to bring faculty from these institutions to Duke. These visits and faculty exchanges, particularly with schools in Puerto Rico, have been productive. The faculty of the UPGG has become more diverse. As the result of recent hires, the UPGG currently has four Hispanic trainers. The number of URM postdoctoral fellows in the laboratories of UPGG faculty also has undergone a significant increase. Members of the UPGG program and other training programs, the PI’s research group and the administrative assistant for the UPGG program regularly attend ABRCMS.
Comments:	The data shown are for the UPGG, a degree granting, interdepartmental training program that is supported, in part, by NIGMS. Most of the trainees are recruited directly into the UPGG. This pool of students does not overlap with any of the other graduate programs at Duke.

Training Program:	Cellular and Molecular Biology
Institution:	Johns Hopkins University
Program Director:	Allen Shearn, Ph.D. (410) 516-4693 bio_cals@jhu.edu
URM in Training Program:	13 of 100 (13 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	5 of 16 (31 percent)
Recent Trends:	The number has fluctuated; the number in the most recent entering class is the largest ever.
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Recruitment: The most important point is that our program is explicitly committed to training URM students, including disabled students. Word of mouth. We have a track record of training URM for more than 35 years. Faculty participation at SACNAS and ABRCMS conferences. Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Programs. Retention: Bonding of incoming URM students with entire incoming class. Tutoring. Appointment of a faculty member as liaison with URM students.

Training Program:	Integrated Training in Pharmacological Sciences
Institution:	Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Program Director:	Srinivas R. Iyengar, Ph.D. (212) 659-1707 ravi.iyengar@mssm.edu
URM in Training Program:	5 of 15 (33 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	2 of 6 (33 percent)
Trends Over the Last Five Years:	Program is only beginning its 4th year but these numbers are representative.
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	The following activities have benefited by the leadership efforts of Dr.Terry Krulwich, until recently, Dean of the Graduate School, and Dr. Maria Diverse-Peirluissi. Both are members of the PS training faculty. The programs aim to recruit not only minority students, but others that may have been disadvantaged due to various circumstances. Excellence in Youth Education Effort – this program engages local high school students and science teachers. Summer Undergraduate Research Program – this annual program recruits a cohort of under-represented minority students, including recruits from traditionally minority-serving institutions (typically 1/3 of the SURP fellows are minority students). Post-baccalaureate Research Program – this NIH-funded program has been particularly successful. Graduates of Mount Sinai’s PREP are now in pre-doctoral training programs, including: two in Mount Sinai’s MSTP and one in the Ph.D. program; one each in Ph.D. training at: University of California at San Francisco, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, University of Texas at Galveston, University of Virginia, University of Virginia, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Several of the current 10 PREP scholars are conducting their research with PS training faculty members. Dr. Krulwich, other faculty and students have frequently participated in SACNAS and NMRS meetings, visited MARC and MBRS program institutions, and made other recruiting trips to colleges and career fairs.

Training Program:	Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB)
Institution:	New York University (NYU) School of Medicine/Sackler Institute
Program Director:	Daniel Rifkin, Ph.D. (212) 263-5109 rifkid01@med.nyu.edu Alternate Contact Joel D. Oppenheim, Ph.D., Senior Associate Dean for Biomedical Science Programs (212) 263-5648 oppenj01@endeavor.med.nyu.edu
URM in Training Program:	4 of 20 (25 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	1 of 5 (20 percent)
Recent Trends:	1998: 4 of 40 (10 percent) 2003: 6 of 21 (29 percent)
Trends for Graduate Programs of New York University/Sackler Institute:	In 1990, there were only 2 URM students in the Sackler Institute. At the start of the 2003-2004 academic year, there were 40 URM students (15 percent); 10 of 79 (12 percent) were in the M.D.-Ph.D. program and 30 of 181 (16 percent) were in the Ph.D. program. This represents a 2,000 percent increase. The retention of these students is as important as the increases in the number of applicants and the number of URM matriculating into the program. Of the 58 students who have matriculated into either the M.D.-Ph.D. program or the Ph.D. program in the last 12 years, as of June 1, 2003, 12 received a Ph.D. degree, 8 received M.D.-Ph.D. degrees, and 31 are still in the program; only 7 have left the program.
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Dedicated and aggressive efforts and support by the senior associate dean for biomedical sciences and director of the Sackler Institute. Coordinated efforts by the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Sciences for all recruitment activities for all graduate programs at NYU School of Medicine, with participation by faculty, program administrators, postdoctoral fellows, and Ph.D. and M.D.-Ph.D. students. Representatives of the Sackler Institute participate in more than 30 career fairs and/or events to encourage students and potential postdoctoral fellows to consider NYU School of Medicine for further training. Programs directed at stimulating interest from students in URM groups in graduate and postgraduate training programs at NYU School of Medicine, including the following: direct recruitment at colleges and universities that have large numbers of minority undergraduate and graduate students; involvement of NYU School of Medicine faculty representatives at Career Days sponsored by these schools; attendance at NIH programs and conferences intended to stimulate minority awareness of scientific career opportunities for potential trainees; creation and maintenance of a contact list of more than 300 individuals at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) with large minority populations involved in undergraduate education (e.g., advisors, MARC and MBRS directors, minority service directors, departmental chairpersons, deans, etc.). (Each year the Sackler Institute sends these individuals information on research and graduate opportunities available at NYU School of Medicine and the Institute office also maintains phone and e-mail contact with most of these individuals); presentation of workshops on the graduate education process and research opportunities throughout the country, including national scientific meetings, to increase the awareness of potential trainees of the programs available at NYU School of Medicine; hosting of visits of students from HBCUs or schools with large minority student populations, including support of and involvement with undergraduate and graduate programs in the New York area aimed at encouraging students from URM groups to consider NYU training programs; the Summer Undergraduate Research Program, established in 1990 and a designated Leadership Alliance summer program, is a cornerstone of the minority recruitment program; active involvement in national organizations, such as the American Society for Microbiology and SACNAS, interested in expanding the pool and pipeline of URM students in graduate school and in the scientific community; active participation in the Leadership Alliance, an academic consortium of 29 institutions of higher learning, including HBCUs dedicated to increasing minority representation in all levels of science (undergraduate, graduate, and academic); and, active participation in the Faculty Resource Network, a consortium of 13 small liberal arts colleges in the northeast and 13 HBCUs in the south, dedicated to faculty development. (Member institutions include Dillard University, New Orleans, LA; Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, NC; Morehouse College and Spelman College, Atlanta, GA; Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, AL; and Xavier University, New Orleans, LA.).
Comments:	Students are recruited into the Sackler Institute's graduate umbrella program. After the first year of support, trainees from the program join the CMB training program and are appointed to the training grant.

Training Program:	Synthesis and Structure of Biological Molecules
Institution:	University of California, Irvine
Program Director:	Timothy F. Osborne, Ph.D. (949) 824-2979 tfosborn@uci.edu
URM Supported on the Training Grant:	1 of 12 (8 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	10 of 37 (27 percent)
Recent Trends:	Number of underrepresented minorities (URM), domestic and foreign students starting the Combined Graduate Program in Molecular Biology, Genetics and Biochemistry (MBG&B).  Underrepresented minority students (URM) are US citizens or permanent residents who are Black African-Americans, Chicano/Latino Americans, Native Americans, and Natives of the U.S. Pacific Islands.     1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Domestic Only 23     27 36 38 43 37 URM 0 3 6 8 10 10 Foreign Only 3 3 7 22 20 14 Domestic & Foreign 26 30 43 60 63 51 % URM for Domestic 0 11 17 21 23 27
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	The Synthesis and Structure of Biological Molecules Training Grant has close ties with the campus program for recruiting and retaining students from underrepresented populations in biological sciences. This Minority Science Program (MSP) has been very successful and has created a family atmosphere for this cohort of students that includes both undergraduates and graduate students.  Starting this year the students from this program will be encouraged to participate in training grant activities including our monthly seminar program and our bi-annual research symposium.  The major features of the Biological Sciences efforts to recruit and retain this cohort of students are highlighted below.  An active and diverse institutional approach to recruit and train individuals from groups underrepresented in higher education and biomedical research careers. Includes coordinated campus-wide programs that use a “pipeline” approach to identifying promising high school and college students and fostering an interest in basic research through seminars and laboratory experience.  Aspects of the pipeline approach have been supported through grants from NIH such as the Bridges to Baccalaureate Program, the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS), the Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP), a Bridges to the Ph.D. Program, and the Minority International Research Training Program (MIRT). The fact that several undergraduate students in the above mentioned UCI undergraduate and bridge programs have published in peer-reviewed journals with UCI faculty demonstrates a culture of accomplishment with students of diverse background, thus encouraging the incoming candidates. Faculty, staff and trainees traditionally participate in national conferences such as the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) and the annual conference of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Underrepresented minority graduate student candidates to the Biological Sciences MBGB program are specifically targeted during their interview to meet with and obtain information about the campus programs mentioned above.  This has been a key to the increased recruitment of these students into the MBGB program.  The students respond very positively to the personal interaction with faculty during the recruitment weekends, research experiences at UCI, and most importantly, they are made to feel like there is a “home” for them with a warm and nurturing environment within the minority sciences community at UCI.

Training Program:	Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Program
Institution:	University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Program Director:	Steven G. Clarke, Ph.D. (310) 825-8754 clarke@mbi.ucla.edu
Interim Program Director:	Sabeeha Merchant, Ph.D. (310) 825-8754 merchant@chem.ucla.edu
URM in Training Program:	8 of 36 (22 percent) -- 7 trainees plus 1 student participating fully in the program but funded through the Ford Foundation
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	1 of 11 (9 percent)
Recent Trends:	Table. Composition of Entering Classes, 1994-2004 Entering class (year) No. of students % of class % of trainees 2004 1 9 24 2003 4 26 22 2002 4 40 22 2001 1 10 14 2000 3 17 14 1999 2 11 5 1998 1 8 2 1997 0 0 0 1996 1 7 5 1995 0 0 2 1994 1 5 2
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Expanded outreach programs to provide research opportunities for undergraduates at UCLA and elsewhere, including campuses of the California State University system and the community college system. These programs, including major programs funded by Bridges to the Future awards and MARC grants, have had a multitude of beneficial effects: made students aware of the wide array of biomedical research at UCLA; kept students on a research track by allowing them to work as apprentice scientists rather than in more typical undergraduate jobs; and, provided a "minority-friendly" environment where students to be recruited could see the number of students from URM groups already working in the research laboratories. Partly as a result of these programs and partly due to the number of UCLA graduates now serving on the faculties of these feeder schools, developed closer relationships with UCLA "feeder" schools, including the community colleges Pierce College and Santa Monica College, and California State University at Los Angeles. Students at these campuses and their faculties have become more familiar with UCLA, and the result has been a dramatic upturn of interest in graduate studies.
Comments:	Students are recruited into the UCLA umbrella ACCESS program. Trainees for the CMB program are selected from the ACCESS pool after their first year. It is apparent that programs designed to interest minority students in research careers, particularly the MBRS and MARC programs, are bearing fruit.

Training Program:	Chemistry Biology Interface Predoctoral Program
Institution:	University of California, San Francisco
Program Director:	Charles Craik, Ph.D. (415) 476-8146 craik@cgl.ucsf.edu
URM in Training Program:	2 of 9 (22 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	1 of 8 (13 percent)
Recent Trends:	2001: 1 of 8 new CBI students were minorities - 5 minority applicants 2002: 1 of 6 new CBI students were minorities - 6 minority applicants 2003: 2 of 9 new CBI students were minorities - 14 minority applicants 2004: 1 of 8 new CBI students were minorities - 6 minority applicants
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Direct solicitation of students and summer research interns from faculty colleagues in the UC Leads and Summer Research Training Program. Representation at SACNAS meetings. Service on UCSF Diversity Committee. Participation in the NSF-sponsored Health Sciences Research Colloquium. Mailings and faculty visits to institutions with significant minority enrollments. Training grant is used as a recruiting inducement for minority students.
Comments:	Minority students find chemistry training especially appealing because of the strong job prospects. Service on the organizing committee for the Summer Research Training Program gives the program director a special opportunity to become familiar with a large number of prospective minority students. It is important to appeal to minority students as prospective graduate students and not as prospective minority students. On recruiting trips to minority institutions, science should be discussed with the students. It is important to focus on finding measures to improve the retention of minority students and looking for ways to provide tutoring and mentoring without having the students feel stigmatized. Success only comes through much effort on many activities, and that success builds upon itself.  It is important to have a self-evaluation process of the program by having focus groups consisting of underrepresented students and key supportive faculty to get issues discussed in depth.  This serves to heighten the sensitivity of the educators and provides a forum for the students to voice their opinions and concerns.

Training Program:	University of Colorado Heath Sciences Center Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)
Institution:	University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, University of Colorado-Boulder, and National Jewish Medical Research Center
Program Director:	Arthur Gutierrez-Hartmann, M.D. (303) 315-8986 a.gutierrez-hartman@UCHSC.edu
URM in Training Program:	9 of 47 (19 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	1 of 7 (14 percent)
Recent Trends:	The URM recruitment has steadily increased over the past 10 years, due to the implementation of energetic recruitment and retention plans. These efforts have resulted in high URM matriculation rates, with an average of about 80% of URMs offered a position matriculating into our MST Program.
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	We specifically target schools with NIGMS MARC/MBRS Programs, focusing in the southwest, such that recruited students will be relatively close to family. Active, program-specific recruitment trips by MSTP Directors, training faculty and URM students to colleges and universities. Partnering with undergraduate pre-medical advisors who have previously sent us URM students. Identification and nurturing of URM students at early stages of their undergraduate career by mentoring URM students in various local URM summer research programs, such as McNair Scholars at CSU, SMART students at CU-Boulder, and ARCS and GEMS students at UCHSC. Program-specific recruitment trips by MSTP Directors, training faculty and URM students to URM-specific research meetings, such as SACNAS and ABRCMS.
Comments:	Importantly, we maintain high academic and research expectations for our URM students, while simultaneously providing highly dedicated mentoring and advising. Additionally URM students are encouraged to assume leadership positions in their medical school class and/or in the MST Program.

Training Program:	Biotechnology Training Program
Institution:	University of Virginia
Program Director:	Gordon W. Laurie, Ph.D. (434) 924-5250 glaurie@virginia.edu
URM in Training Program:	4 of 19 (21 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	2 of 4 (50 percent)
Recent Trends:	2000: 1 of 4 (25%) 2001: 2 of 8 (25%) 2002: 2 of 8 (25%) 2003: 1 of 8 (13%) 2004: 3 of 9 (33%)
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Instill an awareness that the BTP is for the students and organized by the students who join the BTP for the excitement and opportunities of science. Student-organized BTP 'Minority Days' in conjunction with BTP Symposia. Promising seniors from two HBCUs, Virginia Union University and Norfolk State University, are invited to our biennial Symposia to meet with our trainees and visit laboratories. Continually seek BTP outreach opportunities: BTP faculty give science talks to students at Virginia Union University and collaborate with NSU grant initiative to place minority students and faculty in BTP research labs. Make our efforts well-known to students and faculty within the university via student-edited BTP newsletters. Actively maintain connections with minority and other BTP graduates. Encourage and expand the number of prominent BTP minority faculty (currently three, likely increasing to four or five shortly).
Comments:	The BTP training grant supports eight students. The numbers presented for the most recent class and for recent trends reflect the number of students on the training grant. However the BTP program includes current and former trainees and therefore represents a larger number.

Training Program:	Chemistry-Biology Interface Predoctoral Program
Institution:	University of Wisconsin, Madison
Program Director:	Laura Kiessling, Ph.D. (608) 262-0541 kiessling@chem.wisc.edu
URM in Training Program:	3 of 11 (27 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	1 of 2 (50 percent)
Recent Trends:	A revised effort to increase URM admissions has been undertaken in the last 3 years, largely in response to comments made in previous training grant reviews. This effort has shown recent success
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Faculty are required to participate in minority recruiting efforts, with concrete options for their participation; faculty also are given freedom to design their own efforts: presentation of seminars at universities and colleges with large populations of prospective minority graduate students; attendance at minority graduate fairs; active involvement in minority undergraduate research programs; and, participation in science outreach programs relevant for minority students. Use of training grant as a recruiting inducement for minority students. Hosting undergraduate URM students in trainers' laboratories through the REU summer program.

Training Program:	Molecular Biosciences Training Grant
Institution:	University of Wisconsin, Madison
Program Director:	David A. Brow, Ph.D. (608) 262-1475 dabrow@wisc.edu
URM in Training Program:	14 of 74 (19 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	2 of 12 (17 percent)
Recent Trends:	Year URM/Total % 2004 2/12 17 2002 4/11 36 2001 2/14 14 2000 2/16 13 1999 3/13 23 1998 1/13 8 1997 2/14 14 Total 18/102 18
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	In evaluating minority candidates, do not be overly concerned with low grade point averages and/or low graduate record examination scores if other indicators are positive. Take some risks, even if it requires admitting the student under academic probation. Maximize direct contact between minority candidates and program faculty during recruiting and at all stages of the graduate career. Some minority candidates may benefit from additional advising for decisions such as course selection and choice of the thesis laboratory. Maximize contact between minority candidates and minority trainees during recruiting and early stages of the graduate career. Plan activities that promote a friendly and interactive atmosphere in the training program, such as a social gathering in conjunction with a weekly seminar series. Encourage faculty to visit minority institutions, and invite faculty from minority institutions to be visiting professors (e.g., for summer research). Visiting professorships for minority faculty can be funded by minority supplements to existing NIH research grants (see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-01-079.html). Send program faculty to annual minority research symposia to promote the training program and make personal contacts.

Training Program:	Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering Medical Scientist Training Program
Institutions:	Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences, New York, NY Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, NY The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
Program Director:	Olaf S. Andersen, M.D. (212) 746-6023 sparre@med.cornell.edu Alternate Contact Ruth Gotian, M.S., program manager rgotian@med.cornell.edu (212) 746-6023
URM in Training Program:	24 of 102 (24 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class:	6 of 17 (35 percent)
Recent Trends:	In the 1996-1997 admissions season, 10 of 291 (3 percent) URM students applied to the M.D.-Ph.D. program. In 2004, 48 of 317 (15 percent) URM students applied.
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Gateways to the Laboratory Summer Program -- The first program of its kind designed specifically to train URM students to successfully compete for and complete an M.D.-Ph.D. program. Involves active student, faculty, and parental participation. Active recruitment at scientific conferences with help of URM M.D.-Ph.D. students. Visits to colleges and universities and establishment of working relationships with pre-health career advisors. Constant advising of students in the program and others who request advice (potential applicants and career advisors).

Training Program:	Predoctoral Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB)
Institution:	Yale University, New Haven, CT
Program Director:	Lynn Cooley, Ph.D. (203) 785-5067 lynn.cooley@yale.edu
URM in Training Program:	6 of 40 (15 percent)
URM in Most Recent Entering Class	2 of 16 (12 percent)
Recent Trends:	Applications by minority students have doubled in the last 5 years, with corresponding increases in the number and percentage of minority students among matriculated students.
Most Successful Strategies for Recruitment and Retention:	Building relationships with institutions serving URM groups. Sending program faculty and minority students to recruit at all major scientific meetings. Monitoring progress and needs of URM students in the program. Connecting current minority students with students in Yale summer programs for minorities.
Comments:	This training program has students in five departments that are part of the Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) at Yale University. There are 432 students in BBS-affiliated departments of which 45 are URM (10 percent). The recruiting efforts of the CMB training program benefit the BBS program as a whole because many of the training faculty participate in other training programs. CMB training faculty and students are actively involved in recruiting URM students. As a result of these efforts, URM student applications to the BBS program have increased from 37 to 73 in 5 years. The largest number of URM students in a matriculating class was 14 of 92 in 2002.