Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State LA Collaborative CIRM Bridges Program to Enhance Stem Cell Research Training and Education

Jill Adler-Moore
California State Polytechnic University Pomona
Bridges: TB1-01176
Status: Active
$3008975.00

The Bridges to Stem Cell Research awards are intended to train undergraduate and masters students in state-of-the-art stem cell research techniques. Learn more about the awards by reading the RFA. Eleven Bridges Awards worth $23,975,562 were provisionally approved on 1/30/08. You can read the press release for that approval and for the 3/11/09 funding. The program was so successful that on 12/10/09 the board approved funding an additional five awards.

Public Abstract (provided by applicant)

Stem cell research has the potential to improve the health care of all Californians. To achieve this goal and maintain state government and public support in California for stem cell research, stem cell education needs to be made accessible to all California university students since some of them will become part of the stem cell workforce and many others will make up the large body of future governing officials and voting voices of California. Two Bacchalaureate/Master's degree universities will collaborate in the development of a stem cell program to do this. To prepare students to enter the California stem cell workforce, we will provide research internship opportunities at major research-intensive institutions for qualified undergraduate and Master's degree students. Since our large pool of candidates includes many under-represented minority students, the program will make a significant contribution to the training and diversity of California's future stem cell research workforce. To give the large, ethnically diverse California student population a basic understanding of stem cell research, stem cell curriculum for both life science majors and non-majors will also be developed. An online stem cell module will be included in the curriculum development to ensure dissemination of the program to the wider population. By including a large number of students in our program, we hope to enhance the general public’s awareness of the continuing progress in stem cell research and therefore help the public in their future decision-making on supporting stem cell research.

Statement of benefit to California (provided by applicant)

This application describes a collaborative program between the applicant home institution and a partner home institution. The goal is to establish a two-tiered internship program for 10 students per year, providing 6-month internships for undergraduates (6 BS students total, 3 from each campus) and 12-month internships for Master’s program students (4 MS students, 2 from each campus). Partnerships have been arranged with 63 potential training laboratories at 4 non-profit host institutions. Interns will be selected from BS and MS students who have earned a grade of ‘B’ or better in three required courses selected from 11 existing courses that collectively represent the molecular and cellular biology curriculum offered by the two home partner institutions. In addition, the proposed training program will also develop new courses in biology related to stem cell research. All interns will be expected to enroll in a Stem Cell Biology Course and will participate in a one-week Stem Cell Techniques Training course offered at the CIRM Shared Research Laboratory at one of the host institutions. Additional training activities include two stem cell seminars per quarter hosted by the proposed program at the home institutions, and attendance at additional research meetings and seminars offered by the host institutions. Interns will be selected by an internal Advisory Committee, composed of the home institutions’ principals, including the Program Director, as well as representatives from each of the host institutions. Interns will be guided by a research mentor at the host institution and a faculty member at the home institution, and they will be required to submit a written research report to the home institution every 2 months (BS students) or 3 months (MS students). Completion of the internship will include presentations of student research at an annual symposium. Reviewers expressed enthusiasm about the already successful and well-respected biology programs, including biotechnology programs, at the two home institutions, and their history of collaborative education efforts. The training program is clearly laid out and plans for its integration into the normal Master’s program are clear. Reviewers felt that the required course work will appropriately prepare students for their internships and that overall, the proposed educational activities comprise a thoughtful integrated program. The fact that all trainees will be required to take the one-week course offered by the CIRM Shared Research Laboratory was considered a strength of this application. Opinions about the proposed enhancement activities ranged from adequate to sparse, and reviewers suggested that the educational potential could be realized more fully if one of the other proposed course offerings was designated as a required capstone course. Reviewers were reassured by the close proximity of the two home institutions to each other and to three of the four host institutions. Consideration was given to logistics of trainee travel and/or relocation for internships where necessary. The duration of the internship for the Master’s level students (one year) was judged to be adequate, whereas reviewers expressed concern that 6 months may not be enough time for undergraduates to accomplish any significant research, especially because they lack research experience, and because much of their time will be spent writing research reports, one report every 2 months. This level of oversight was considered somewhat excessive but, on the other hand, does ensure that the interns will at least become intellectually aware of their mentors’ research areas. Reviewers were impressed with the number of possible training sites at the host institutions and with the scientific accomplishments of many of the potential trainers, citing the quality of the host laboratories as a strength of this application. However, they expressed concern about the availability of training slots since not all host institutions specified the number of trainees they plan to accommodate. Reviewers thought that the host institutions will likely support the one-year internships for MS students and may be less committed to the six-month undergraduate internships. The process for intern placement was judged to be reasonable, although used to select mentors were not clearly presented in the application. Given the short internship period for undergraduates, reviewers suggested that mentors with past undergraduate training experience may be particularly well suited. The home institution has a strong track record of training in cell biology and molecular biology, and is committed to stem cell training. Both institutions have impressive track records serving significant underrepresented minority student populations and propelling them to complete advanced degrees, including PhDs. Institutional commitment letters from high-ranking officials at the home institutions provide assurance that the Program Leadership is fully supported by both institutions, and include an extensive list of equipment and research infrastructure that is available for supporting this program. Thus, the overall commitment is impressive. Partnering arrangements with each of the 4 internship-host institutions have been developed as evidenced by the letters of commitment from each. The Program Director has considerable research and administrative experience as well as an impressive mentoring record, and thus is well qualified to direct this program. Plans for administration of the program and roles of the Program Director and Advisory Committee are clearly developed. The approach to recruit students to the Bridges Program is extensive. Reviewers praised the proposed evaluation of the program, which will include tracking of trainees for 3 years using an electronic survey with a specific list of questions. However, the criteria that will be used to judge the success of this Bridges Program were unaddressed. Overall, reviewers were impressed with the proposed Program, especially with the quality of the host laboratories, and the Program leadership. Although some concerns were raised about details of the training program, in general reviewers felt that the proposed educational activities comprise a thoughtful integrated program.