An Innovative Biomedical Research Training Model: Rationale, Design, and Evaluation

Abstract

Much is told regarding the need for greater diversity in the biomedical research workforce in terms of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. However, there are few evidence-based models that are tested and can have significant effects in this regard. Thus, there is a need for development and evaluation of innovative models that may help train a more diverse biomedical research workforce. In this study, we provided the rationale, conceptual model, and preliminary evaluation of a program called “A Student-Centered Entrepreneurship Development (ASCEND)”. This training program was designed, implemented, and evaluated between 2017 and 2020 at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The program’s conceptual model is based on four stages: Attraction and Inspiration, Ideation and Innovation, Research Implementation, and Career Growth. Results of the comparative survey between 50 students who participated in ASCEND and 86 non-member controls showed an increase in science identity, academic self-concept, science self-efficacy, and peer support. The only domain that did not show a larger increase in participants in our program compared to controls was social self-concept. In addition, a total of 59 students submitted 48 research concepts, and 16 undergraduate student projects were funded. Of participants in the Health Research Concepts Competition, 39 students graduated, and 13 were pursuing graduate programs in STEM fields at the time of evaluation. The number of research projects and trainees who started a graduate degree were also reported. The ASCEND training model fosters an entrepreneurial mindset among undergraduate students. Such a program might be effective in diversifying the biomedical research workforce. While this preliminary evaluation indicates the efficacy of the ASCEND model, there is a need for further long-term and multi-center evaluations with the trainees’ research productivity and receipt of independent funding as outcomes. © 2022 by the authors.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Undergraduate research Biomedical research diversity and inclusion research training

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations

School of Community Health and Policy, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, United States, Prevention Sciences Research Center, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, United States

Department of Biology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, United States

ASCEND Center for Biomedical Research, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD, United States

School of Education & Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Funding & Acknowledgements

National Science Foundation, NSF

Funding text 1: Research reported in this publication was supported by the ASCEND Center for Biomedical Research at Morgan State University and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers UL1GM118973, RL5GM118972, and TL4GM118974. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.; Funding text 2: Federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), have made significant investments in developing innovative research training programs [,]; however, most of these funded programs have followed an apprenticeship model. Incorporation of an entrepreneurial mindset into research training has the potential to overcome the limitations of the traditional apprenticeship training model by allowing students to drive the process more creatively, which can lead to greater peer support and students’ increased ownership of their research. In the real world, leading researchers have an entrepreneurial mindset: they use their creativity to generate novel research ideas, pitch their ideas to secure funding, take ownership of their projects, lead staff and other scientists, and in every step of this venture, they accept the associated risks and responsibilities. Therefore, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in research training has the potential to better position undergraduate researchers to answer research questions and motivate them to become highly accomplished, next-generation investigators.

National Institutes of Health, NIH

Grant: RL5GM118972, TL4GM118974, UL1GM118973

Funding text 1: Research reported in this publication was supported by the ASCEND Center for Biomedical Research at Morgan State University and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers UL1GM118973, RL5GM118972, and TL4GM118974. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.; Funding text 2: Federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), have made significant investments in developing innovative research training programs [,]; however, most of these funded programs have followed an apprenticeship model. Incorporation of an entrepreneurial mindset into research training has the potential to overcome the limitations of the traditional apprenticeship training model by allowing students to drive the process more creatively, which can lead to greater peer support and students’ increased ownership of their research. In the real world, leading researchers have an entrepreneurial mindset: they use their creativity to generate novel research ideas, pitch their ideas to secure funding, take ownership of their projects, lead staff and other scientists, and in every step of this venture, they accept the associated risks and responsibilities. Therefore, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in research training has the potential to better position undergraduate researchers to answer research questions and motivate them to become highly accomplished, next-generation investigators.

National Institutes of Health, NIH

Funding text 1: Research reported in this publication was supported by the ASCEND Center for Biomedical Research at Morgan State University and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers UL1GM118973, RL5GM118972, and TL4GM118974. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.; Funding text 2: Federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), have made significant investments in developing innovative research training programs [,]; however, most of these funded programs have followed an apprenticeship model. Incorporation of an entrepreneurial mindset into research training has the potential to overcome the limitations of the traditional apprenticeship training model by allowing students to drive the process more creatively, which can lead to greater peer support and students’ increased ownership of their research. In the real world, leading researchers have an entrepreneurial mindset: they use their creativity to generate novel research ideas, pitch their ideas to secure funding, take ownership of their projects, lead staff and other scientists, and in every step of this venture, they accept the associated risks and responsibilities. Therefore, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in research training has the potential to better position undergraduate researchers to answer research questions and motivate them to become highly accomplished, next-generation investigators.

National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIGMS

Funding text 1: Research reported in this publication was supported by the ASCEND Center for Biomedical Research at Morgan State University and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers UL1GM118973, RL5GM118972, and TL4GM118974. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.; Funding text 2: Federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), have made significant investments in developing innovative research training programs [,]; however, most of these funded programs have followed an apprenticeship model. Incorporation of an entrepreneurial mindset into research training has the potential to overcome the limitations of the traditional apprenticeship training model by allowing students to drive the process more creatively, which can lead to greater peer support and students’ increased ownership of their research. In the real world, leading researchers have an entrepreneurial mindset: they use their creativity to generate novel research ideas, pitch their ideas to secure funding, take ownership of their projects, lead staff and other scientists, and in every step of this venture, they accept the associated risks and responsibilities. Therefore, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in research training has the potential to better position undergraduate researchers to answer research questions and motivate them to become highly accomplished, next-generation investigators.

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An Innovative Biomedical Research Training Model: Rationale, Design, and Evaluation

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