The Nevada Biomedical Student Pipeline Program

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The Nevada Biomedical Student Pipeline
Program Julie A. Ellsworth, Ph.D. Truckee
Meadows Community College Reno, Nevada
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• Nevada Biomedical Student Pipeline Program
• Supported by Nevada INBRE
• Nevada INBRE is supported by NIH Grant Number
  P20 RR-016464 from the INBRE Program of the
  National Center for Research Resources
• Biomedical Pipeline Program budget approx.
  250,000
• per year for five years

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Major Program Goals

• Increase the number of low-income, minority, and
  first-generation students in biomedical majors
• Improve career awareness and college preparedness
• Increase retention and success in college science
  courses

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Program Strategy

• Target incoming freshmen to community colleges
  interested in life science
• Many low-income, minority, and first-generation
  students attend Nevada community college
• Produce a pipeline of students who succeed at
  the community college and transfer to university
• Build the confidence and skills needed to
  succeed

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Major Program Activities

• Recruit incoming Community College freshmen
• Bridge Workshop 1st summer
• College readiness skills
• Career exposure
• BioPrep Workshop 2nd summer
• Laboratory skills
• Life science content knowledge
• Tutoring available throughout the year

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Major Program Activities

• Recruit incoming Community College freshmen
• Bridge Workshop 1st summer
• College readiness skills
• Career exposure
• BioPrep Workshop 2nd summer
• Laboratory skills
• Life science content knowledge
• Tutoring available throughout the year

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Bridge Workshop Curriculum

• College preparedness, example lessons
• How to budget your time
• Academic planning and campus resources
• Navigating a college course syllabus
• Long-term planning and perspective
• Academic and life science professional lingo
• Building your resume and how to interview
• Reading strategies and study skills
• Quantitative reasoning skills

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Bridge Workshop Curriculum (cont.)

• Exposure to careers in biomedical science
• Clinical practice as a nurse, PA, PT, physician
• Dietetic, medical, or veterinary technician
• Genetic or rehabilitation counselor
• Environmental health specialist
• Epidemiologist, immunologist, public health
• Agricultural scientist or pharmaceutical
  researcher
• Genomics or proteomics specialist
• Biostatistician or bioinformatics specialist

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Bridge Workshop Curriculum (cont.)

• Example guest speakers and tours
• Students and faculty at the Universities (UNR,
  UNLV)
• Advisors from Biology and Biochemistry Depts.
• Other research institutes Desert Research
  Institute and the Nevada Cancer Center
• County Crime Labs, Health Depts., Vector Control
  Labs, Infectious Control Labs
• Local biotech companies Charles River Labs,
  Sierra Sciences, Hamilton Company, Sarstedt
  Company

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Major Program Activities

• Recruit incoming Community College freshmen
• Bridge Workshop 1st summer
• College readiness skills
• Career exposure
• BioPrep Workshop 2nd summer
• Laboratory skills
• Life science content knowledge
• Tutoring available throughout the year

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BioPrep Workshop Curriculum

• Laboratory skills and building confidence
• Maintaining a laboratory notebook
• Making solutions and other lab preparation
• Modern molecular techniques
• DNA extraction and restriction digests
• Spectrophotometry and microscopy
• PCR and gel electrophoresis
• ELISA testing
• Analyzing data, interpreting results, and
  presenting scientific information (oral and
  written)

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BioPrep Workshop Curriculum (cont.)

• Example life science content knowledge
• Cell types, structure, and function
• Mendelian genetics and inheritance patterns
• Molecular genetics and gene expression
• Genotype, phenotype, and the environment
• Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and evolution
• Disease transmission, treatment and prevention
• Continued emphasis on academic planning and
  personal time management

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Major Program Activities

• Recruit incoming Community College freshmen
• Bridge Workshop 1st summer
• College readiness skills
• Career exposure
• BioPrep Workshop 2nd summer
• Laboratory skills
• Life science content knowledge
• Tutoring available throughout the year

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Organizational Structure

• Northern Nevada
• Truckee Meadows Community College
• Director, Julie Ellsworth (50 effort)
• Southern Nevada
• College of Southern Nevada
• Assist. Director, Bert Skillen (33 effort)
• Rural/Eastern Nevada
• Great Basin College
• Rural liaison, Betty Elliot (5 effort)

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Nevada INBRE Network Institutions
Elko
Reno
Las Vegas
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Recruitment strategies

• Website and video (http//www.unr.edu/inbre/pipeli
  ne/)
• Brochures, and cards (hand-outs)
• Television segments, newspaper ads
• High school teachers, counselors, and
  administrators
• Classroom presentations
• Other venues career fairs, financial aid fairs,
  college open-house events, community events

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Recruitment and participationin Bridge Workshop

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Participants

• Average high school GPA 3.3
• 75 female
• 70 first-generation college
• 60 low-income
• 70 from underrepresented minority groups

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Opinion surveys

• Post-assessments indicated students enjoyed the
  workshop activities and felt they learned
  important information
• Highly valued activities time-budgeting, course
  management, and how to communicate professionally
• Most often cited work schedules and family issues
  as barriers to success

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Persistence in the program How many Bridge
students complete BioPrep?

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College success

• Overall minority persistence rates at Nevada
  Community Colleges about 50
• Program participants have over 70 persistence
  from freshman to sophomore year
• Program participants have average college GPA of
  3.1
• Five students have taken first biology majors
  course (Bio 190) with B average

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Challenges and strategies

• Challenges
• Students take too many credits, even when advised
  not to do so
• Study skills and academic savvy develop slowly
• Math and chemistry
• Students do not take advantage of available
  tutoring

• Strategies
• Continue to emphasize academic advising, study
  skills, careers, and time management in BioPrep
• New instructor from the Math department
• New instructor/tutor participating in workshop
• Plans to implement peer tutoring/advising

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Parting thoughts

• The process we are trying to accomplish is
  interpersonal-intensive
• it takes one-on-one with
  students
• We are building a pipeline of students, but the
  water pressure is low and there are leaks
• Difficulties recruiting men, particularly
  Hispanic men
• Students face diverse set of obstacles and
  challenges

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• Thank you!

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Draft Renewal Outreach Expansion

• Continue UROP Undergraduate Research
  Opportunity Programs at UNR, UNLV, NVCI
• Continue the Biomedical Pipeline Program
• Expand INBRE undergraduate outreach to promote
  research at community colleges
• Partnership to submit NIH SEPA proposal to
  enhance K-12 science inquiry

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Community College Research

• The goal is to enhance biomedical science
  instruction and experience at community colleges
• Incorporate real science into existing
  classes
• C-BUR (Curriculum-Based Undergrad Research)
• Concept developed following conference in Seattle
• Ideas presented to Dr. Jowel Laguerre, the VP of
  Academic Affairs at TMCC
• Partnership with Chris Fritsen, NV NASA Space
  Grant Consortium Director

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SEPA Ideas

• K-5 Level (Elementary) Music teacher model
• Teachers with training in science serve as
  roving teachers for science at multiple schools
• 6-12 (Middle High School) Science Coaches
• Out-of-classroom science coaches (paid like
  athletic coaches) run science clubs and mentor
  student science fair projects
• Currently piloting 4 middle school teachers