Ophelia Weeks - US grants

This project is recruiting high ability, low-income students interested in pursuing careers in the biological sciences or mathematics.

Broader Impact: The program is targeting incoming freshmen students from the Miami-Dade High Schools, juniors transferring from Miami Dade College with an associate degree, and juniors at the university. The targeted student population has a high percentage of minority students, especially Hispanic. The goal for the freshman students is graduation with a baccalaureate degree in 4 years and for the junior students graduation in 2 years. After graduation, some junior students are being provided support to get a Masters degree in one of the targeted areas (Mathematics (MATH) or the Biological Sciences (BIO)) during the following 2 years.

Intellectual Merit: A counseling, guidance, and mentorship program provides mechanisms to students to support program goals. A research experience and an internship program are available to all participating students. A group of specialists assist students with problems they face during their college experience. Faculty from participating disciplines serve as advisors and mentors to the S-STEM scholars, meeting with them regularly to provide advice on academic, career, support services, and learning enhancement opportunities, as well as personal support and encouragement. All of this is designed to create a cohort atmosphere.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): FIU is a public minority-serving research institution located in Miami. It has an enrollment of 38,000+ students (71.99% URM), "health" as a designated mission area, and a stated goal to be one of the nation's top public urban research universities. FIU provides an excellent opportunity to develop a significant number of URM scientists for biomedical research careers. In Fall 2007, FIU launches a new and rigorous biological sciences curriculum for freshmen called Quantifying Biology in the classroom (Q'BIC) that is integrative and quantitative. FIU anticipates that Q'BIC will provide a pool of talented &exceptionally prepared students for its MARC U*STAR Program. FIU proposes a MARC U*STAR Program for 18 students in a Q'BIC curriculum, &6 top students in a traditional curriculum. This format is necessary because students in Q'BIC will not be eligible for MARC U*STAR the first grant year, yet this format can provide significant insights. For year 1 of the 5-year grant period, 6 juniors will be selected from participating disciplines;for years 2, 3 &4, they will be selected from pools of 25 students enrolled in Q'BIC. Q'BIC is a 4-year program developed by FIU biological sciences, statistics, mathematics, chemistry, physics, computer science and biomedical engineering faculty. Q'BIC is an integrated lock-step cohort "block" program where students take classes together, and courses within blocks have identified &coordinated areas of overlapping synergy. Scholars are able to see how biological data is analyzed, how mathematics can model biological processes, and teaching units show them how sound biological theories are generated. Part 1 (freshmen &sophomores) integrates calculus &statistics with biology, genetics, ecology &chemistry;Part 2 (juniors &seniors), offers tailored- upper level courses. MARC U*STAR Fellows actively participate in directed scientific research &enrichment activities that include a simulation &modeling work-shop, journal club activities, thesis writing workshop, science cafes, scientific presentations &participation in extramural research programs. Thus, the three-prong goal for FlU's MARC U*STAR Program is: (1) provide motivated students with the tools &skills that allow them to be academically competitive &successful;(2) immerse them in supportive &stimulating research environments that enhance &nurture their interest in science, (3) increase the number of URM who continue on to, excel in and complete biomedical or behavioral sciences Ph.D. or MD/PhD programs.

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Florida International University (FIU) is an urban, doctoral-granting institution located in Miami, Florida's largest population center. FIU, with its current enrollment of over 70% underrepresented minority students (URMS), has a mission which includes "Health" as a primary strategic theme, and has a vested interest in ensuring that its undergraduate students are provided with the best possible foundational education in the biological sciences. FIU, a MARC U*STAR institution, submits its proposal to implement an innovative and strategically developed plan to quantify biology in the classroom (the Q'BIC Plan). Q'BIC is an integrated lock-step cohort program (a Block Program) which for the short term is being offered as a Quantitative Biology Track, with long-term intentions of being the format for our biology curriculum. Courses in the block have identified and coordinated areas of overlapping synergy. Groups of 25 students take these courses together and work within an integrated, conceptual framework. Teaching units within courses use active and cooperative learning techniques and problem based-learning concepts. The program integrates mathematics, statistics and computing such that data generated in the biology labs are used to teach statistical concepts and biological processes are used to illustrate mathematical techniques. Thus, Q'BIC scholars are able to see how mathematics can model biological processes. This connection is emphasized in the teachable units and shows how sound biological theories are generated. Q'BIC allows the teaching of mathematics and statistics from the perspective of interpreting experimental and observational measurements, motivates students to learn statistics and teaches them how to be scientists. Q'BIC is organized in two parts: Part 1 begins in the freshman year and continues through the sophomore year;Part 2 covers the junior and senior years. This block program has synchrony and is sequential. Q'BIC includes a capstone summer workshop following Part 1, which concentrates on modeling and simulation. Part 2 offers tailored upper level courses and encourages scholars to participate in funded research programs. Q'BIC has a well-developed formative and summative evaluation and assessment component that effectively and efficiently measures whether the objectives of the program are being met and, most importantly, measures whether Q'BIC scholars are actually learning. The overall goal of the Q'BIC Plan is that students finishing the program will have the skills needed to move fluidly among conceptual, analytical and quantitative approaches to solving biological problems, ultimately increasing the number of URMS who enter and complete biomedical graduate programs.