The Leadership Alliance: Twenty Years of Developing a Diverse Research Workforce

Fine-Tuning Summer Research Programs to Promote Underrepresented Students’ Persistence in the STEM Pathway

“…A substantial body of literature provides evidence that summer research experiences promote the development of critical research and communication skills and help clarify career paths ( Lopatto 2004a , 2007 ; Seymour et al ., 2004 ). Longitudinal evaluations and outcome data of the SR-EIP demonstrate the efficacy of these programs in building students’ confidence in their research and communication skills; clarifying students’ knowledge about the steps needed to apply for and succeed in various training pathways; and exposing students to the different career paths in academia, industry, and the public and private sectors ( Ghee et al ., 2014 ). Although these data support the overall importance of a summer research experience, analysis of the specific components of the summer program is critical to understanding the impact of these activities on career clarification and research skill development.…”

Capacity-Building for Career Paths in Public Health and Biomedical Research for Undergraduate Minority Students: A Jackson Heart Study Success Model

“…8 Similar to Project Imhotep, operated at Morehouse College from 1982 to 2010, students participated in an intensive classroom experience that included introductory and intermediate courses in biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, bioethics, and health disparities along with scientific writing and presentation skills. 5 And, similar to the Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) and Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Programs, 6 we did not assess scholars' ratings of usefulness of their experiences in the program nor the impact of the program on their research career trajectories.…”

“…5 Students who participated in the Leadership Alliance program between 1993 and 2011 attended a summer research seminar and were provided the opportunity to participate in a Summer Research Early Identification Program. 6 For students at Emory University, it was a 10-week Summer Undergraduate Research Program. 7 Bangera and Brownell 8 strongly advocated an approach that included a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) as a required introductory course for all students, in order to give students the opportunity to engage in authentic research.…”

Thinking Ahead to the Next Generation of Cardiometabolic Investigators: What It Takes to Successfully Engage Underrepresented Minorities in Biomedical and Public Health Careers

“…The Leadership Alliance provides an academic research experience of 8 to 10 weeks, with a variety of academic disciplines. The Leadership Alliance has tracked its students since its inception and has provided long-term professional development opportunities, mentoring, and networking [ 18 , 19 ].…”