INfectious Diseases Summer Program Integrating Research at Emory (INSPIRE)

PROJECT SUMMARY The objective of the proposed INfectious Diseases Summer Program Integrating Research at Emory (INSPIRE) research training program is to prepare undergraduate students from groups historically excluded from and underrepresented in science and medicine from across the country for a career in infectious disease (ID).

Racial discrimination in healthcare delivery has led to significant mistrust of a public health system which many individuals believe has been used against them because of their race and ethnicity. The fact that such discriminatory practices have existed is associated with the lack of representation of individuals from diverse

backgrounds in ID. Individuals who identify as African American, Latinx, Native American, or as Pacific Islanders comprise approximately 39% of the college population but individuals from these groups earn only 13% of doctoral degrees in the life sciences and constitute only 13% of recent medical graduates and 7% of full-time

medical faculty. As one of the nation’s leading research universities, Emory University is grounded in both academic excellence and a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The academic resources at Emory include access to dedicated world-class faculty and outstanding facilities and equipment with a reputation

for being one of the best academic ID research centers in the world. At the same time, Emory faculty and student body are increasingly diverse and inclusive of historically underrepresented groups and have powerful research and training partnerships with the neighboring historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) including

Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark Atlanta. The objective of our training program is to prepare 48 underrepresented undergraduate students from throughout the country for a career in ID research by exposing them to hands-on research, conducting courses for professional and research skills development, and

strengthening Emory’s mentorship capacity to addresses identity and underrepresentation. In Aim 1, undergraduate students from groups historically excluded from and underrepresented in science and medicine will be matched with a research mentor and a laboratory or clinical field site for a 10-week in-person summer

research experience that will result in an abstract and poster presentation at a research symposium conducted at the end of the period. In Aim 2, we will deliver in-person and online courses on: a) career guidance to enter medical and/or graduate school; b) biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research topics related to the NIAID

mission; and c) understanding how researchers from underrepresented groups can successfully pursue a path in research and healthcare. In Aim 3, we will: a) provide undergraduate trainees with agency to select from a pool of identity mentors who have diverse ethnic, racial, cultural backgrounds, and experiences, who will

maintain regular contact the trainees for one year; b) conduct Mentoring Up workshops for 75 post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty; and c) provide workshops on mentoring and facilitation for 87 faculty members who are research and identity mentors.