Buoyed by the awarding of an NIGMS IMSD, UT Health’s graduate school undertook a strategic and institutional challenge to increase the pool of underrepresented (UR) students being trained in our doctoral programs. Over the last seven years, our efforts and initiatives have led to increases in the numbers of UR students applying to, matriculating in, and graduating from, our biomedical doctoral programs. With the current PREP mechanism, we intend to develop another pipeline into the biomedical sciences for students who are talented and passionate, yet underprepared for graduate education. We are proposing the UTHealth-LINK post baccalaureate training program with the overarching goal of implementing proven, evidence-based approaches to recruit a pool of candidates committed to careers in biomedical research. It is our expectation that this program will result in these students successfully competing for entrance into highly competitive doctoral training programs, and ultimately, realizing productive careers in the biomedical sciences.

PROJECT NARRATIVE: This PREP program (UTHealth-LINK) is designed to train and prepare students who have completed the undergraduate degree but who, for a variety of reasons, are underprepared for direct acceptance into doctoral training programs. Through sustained research activities, academic preparation and career planning, students completing this program will be exquisitely prepared for the rigors of demanding graduate programs.