Training Underrepresented Students to Enhance the Diversity of the Biomedical, Behavioral, and Clinical Research Workforce
The STEP-UP program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine supports 25 trainees annually, who are recruited from 6 unique sources of underrepresented undergraduate students that are placed with outstanding mentors at top-notch participating research-intensive universities.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Short-Term Research Experience for Underrepresented Persons (STEP-UP) program is an initiative aimed at providing research opportunities for underrepresented undergraduate and high school students interested in biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research related to diabetes, endocrinology, metabolism, digestive diseases, nutrition, kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases.
The program offers students hands-on research experience in laboratories and clinical settings, exposure to scientific seminars and discussions, mentorship from experienced researchers, and opportunities to present their research findings. The goal of NIDDK STEP-UP program is to encourage underrepresented students to pursue careers in biomedical research and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in areas related to NIDDK’s mission.
The NIDDK STEP-UP program works with multiple coordinating centers that are associated with universities or research institutions that collaborate with NIDDK to administer the program and provide research opportunities for underrepresented students.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine STEP-UP Program
The Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM) serves as one of the NIDDK coordinating centers. The STEP-UP program at WFUSM takes advantage of the broad, multidisciplinary research established in the areas of diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, and related comorbidities at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The program utilizes creative recruitment strategies to provide hands-on research exposure, state-of-the art research and professional skills training, career-development resources, and ongoing multi-level mentorship to reinforce participants’ intent to graduate with a biomedical science degree and prepare them for graduate school admissions and careers in research. The program dedicates efforts towards providing not only technical expertise but also advice, insight, and career development skills. Training experiences and mentoring are delivered during an 8-week summer experience that includes regular web-based mentoring meetings with participants, career-development webinars, and other professional skill-building exercises.
The STEP-UP program at WFUSM supports 25 trainees annually, who are recruited from 6 unique sources of underrepresented undergraduate students that are placed with outstanding mentors at top-notch participating research-intensive universities. The Program Directors have vast academic and professional experiences, a long history of collaborations to increase diversity in biomedical sciences, and extensive expertise in training program administration. Program faculty include research mentors who are established scientists with high levels of productivity in terms of peer-reviewed publications and extramural support, offering a wide variety of research opportunities to trainees; and career mentors (both junior and senior faculty) that provide career and professional skills advisement. Underrepresented faculty are well-represented among program faculty, and many have participated in similar diversity-focused training programs.
Recruiting Students and Mentors
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The WFUSM STEP-UP program is currently recruiting students and mentors.
Mentors guide a high school student through a summer research experience, including writing an abstract and presenting a talk at the NIDDK/NIH STEP-UP final symposium. Projects may include work on a mentor’s ongoing research. The time commitment is 40 hours per week for 8-weeks, from mid-June through early August. Mentors receive a stipend, and the appropriate coordinating center will reach out to provide new mentor training and ongoing project support.
Mentors should be actively working in a research laboratory in the life or health sciences and have a STEM degree (eg, PhD or MD). Mentors must be located in the United States (including territories) able to host students in their lab and are responsible for knowing and complying with their institution’s rules regarding students/minors accessing the lab. Researchers whose work is funded by or within the scope of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) are highly encouraged to apply. Researchers from groups historically underrepresented in the sciences are highly encouraged to apply.
For more information, visit the WFUSM STEP-UP program website.
Camelia Singletary, MPH, received her master’s degree in public health from the University of South Carolina in 2015. Her research interests include exploring the implementation of school physical activity programs in combination with nutritional components. She is also interested in analyzing the adoption of physical activity and healthy eating skills from a social-cognitive perspective. As a public health communicator at JPHMP Direct, she hopes to create linkages between evidence-based research, public health coursework, and health certification competencies.
Maame Amoah-Dankwah received her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University in 2021. She is currently a medical student at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Her research interests lie in using community engagement to improve health care outcomes of marginalized populations.