The COMPASS Scholars Program – Developing Today’s Untapped Talent into Tomorrow’s STEM Cell Researchers

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Grant Award Details

Grant Type:

COMPASS Training Grant

Grant Number:

EDUC5-13840

Investigator(s):

Name:

John Matsui

Institution:

University of California, Berkeley

Type:

Award Value:

$2,908,950

Status:

Active

Progress Reports

Reporting Period:

Year 1

Over year one (2022-2023) of The COMPASS Scholars Program – Developing Today’s Untapped Talent into Tomorrow’s STEM Cell Researchers we created the program’s basic infrastructure, launched the COMPASS program, welcomed our first cohort of five CIRM COMPASS Scholars across three departments in partnership with the Berkeley Stem Cell Center, and began initial recruitment activities in preparation of our second recruitment and admissions cycle. Specifically, the Biology Scholars Program (BSP) developed, solicited, and launched seven COMPASS program-themed career development workshops and panels. Leading up to our first admissions cycle, we invited all BSP students to these workshops and hosted all who attended. As part of our recruitment and preparation effort, we ensured that our existing courses, IDS 96 and MCB 15, played a role in developing a pool of members who were research-ready and acquired sufficient information to make an informed choice about committing to a research program leading to a variety of careers in regenerative medicine. Moving into the selection process, the BSP developed a new COMPASS application, created selection criteria, established an interview protocol, solicited the COMPASS opportunity to current BSP students, reviewed applications, held student interviews, and selected our inaugural cohort. The BSP simultaneously developed and shepherded a faculty-student applicant “matching” protocol for the COMPASS program and conducted a Faculty Orientation for all assigned mentors. The Faculty Orientation meeting included a guided discussion on how to work with new COMPASS trainee(s) by way of mentorship agreements and individual development plans. Further, over the 2022-2023 cycle, we created a new course designed for current COMPASS Scholars, MCB 198, containing a suite of regenerative medicine-themed topics. Additionally, the BSP created and implemented monthly Advancing Mentoring Practice meetings to support direct mentors’ (i.e., graduate students and post-doctoral fellows) successes and challenges in their work with trainees. Moreover, we developed pre- mid- and post- trainee surveys to assist in monitoring the progress and impact of our efforts. Finally, we launched our second round of COMPASS program-themed career development workshops and panels in preparation for the upcoming application cycle.

Grant Application Details

Application Title:

The COMPASS Scholars Program – Developing Today’s Untapped Talent into Tomorrow’s STEM Cell Researchers

Statement of Benefit to California:

As a public land grant institution, mandated to serve all segments of California’s diverse population, the STEM community at this University has not seen equitable outcomes for its majors from the diversity of backgrounds represented among its undergraduates. Here and elsewhere, STEM culture relies heavily on the quantitative assessment of talent (e.g., GPA, standardized test rankings) and the value of competition and curve grading to sort talent. These practices are grounded in the ideology of an objective meritocracy in which individuals ‘deserve what they get and get what they deserve.’ These practices reinforce the myth of meritocracy and have focused our attention on the ‘failing student’ rather than on the institutional practices that have failed them. We must rethink how we think about STEM ‘talent’ and how we assess who is ‘qualified’ to succeed in and contribute to science. With limited fiscal resources, we should ask what is STEM ‘talent’ and how should we invest in it? As part of our due diligence, we need to identify and address the structural failings of our institutions rather than rationalizing success in STEM as the natural outcome of individual differences in skill, talent, or perceived work ethic. 30 years of evidence from the STEM equity program leading this project suggests that so called less qualified students can succeed in STEM courses at this institution if provided a proper academic environment. The proposed COMPASS Scholars Program tests if this holds true at ‘the bench’ as well. Continuing STEM practices that undervalue and fail to develop untapped talent have clear implications for our failure to meet California’s STEM workforce needs. Additionally, as advances are made in stem cell research and its application to precision medicine, so too does the potential of widening disparities in health care. The investment of CIRM funds in the COMPASS Research Training Initiative has the potential to benefit California not only by increasing the number of qualified stem cell researchers, but by giving voice to the diversity of backgrounds, and cultural and community perspectives these scientists represent to address the health care challenges of our diverse state. (2213/3000 characters)