TRANSCEND – Training Program to Advance Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Research, Education, and Workforce Diversity

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Grant Award Details

Grant Number:
EDUC4-12752
Award Value:
$5,344,306
Status:
Active

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Year 1
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Year 2
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Year 3

Grant Application Details

Application Title:

TRANSCEND – Training Program to Advance Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Research, Education, and Workforce Diversity

Public Abstract:
UCR is located in California’s Inland Empire, which includes two of the largest counties in our state (Riverside and San Bernardino). The Inland Empire is one of the most highly diversified and medically underserved areas in California. There is a critical need to train a workforce of stem cell researchers to serve this area and accelerate the introduction of stem cell therapies to the citizens of California. Our objective is to increase the number and diversity of highly qualified PhD and postdoctoral level scientists trained in stem cell biology in the California workforce and to provide trainees with the communication skills they need to be successful. Training will be offered through TRANSCEND (Training Program to Advance Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Research, Education and Workforce Diversity), an interdisciplinary program with an emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and equality. Our mentors come from 14 graduate programs, have well-funded research projects, established records of working collaboratively, and have won awards for research and outstanding mentoring. TRANSCEND will: (1) Train 16 PhD students and 11 postdoctoral scientists; (2) Provide three core graduate level courses and two stem cell seminars. These courses include Stem Cell Biology and Medicine (CMDB 207), Ethical, Social, and Legal Implications of Stem Cell Research (CMDB 208), and Science to Policy a course that trains students to communicate with non-scientists and politicians and provides them with the tools needed to transfer their science into policy; ( 3) Offer an annual Stem Cell Symposium in conjunction with the Inland Empire Stem Cell Consortium; (4) Provide enrichment activities that include participating in community outreach, travel to scientific meetings each year, interaction with patients and patient advocate groups, and opportunities to interact with our Center for Health Disparities (https://healthdisparities.ucr.edu/) (e.g. by participating in seminars and Engagement Studios) and our School of Public Policy (https://spp.ucr.edu/) (e.g., by receiving additional training in transferring science to policy). Our mentors will provide research training dealing with stem cells and regenerative medicine in the areas of (1) Bioengineering, (2) Neuroscience and Neurodegenerative Disease, and (3) Prevention and Treatment of Birth Defects and Reproductive Failure. Training will be interdisciplinary with cross training in the life sciences, biomedical sciences, and engineering. UCR, a Hispanic Serving Institution, has an excellent record of recruiting, retaining, and training disadvantaged students from areas with unmet medical needs. Training will be enhanced and broadened through our affiliations with the City of Hope, UC Irvine, and the Inland Empire Stem Cell Consortium campuses ( https://stemcell.ucr.edu/inland-empire-stem-cell-consortium ).
Statement of Benefit to California:
The University of California, Riverside (UCR) is a research-intensive, federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution, which is uniquely positioned to fulfill CIRM’s program goals of accelerating stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs and to broaden the participation of individuals representing California’s diverse population in regenerative medicine. UCR will meet these goals and contribute major benefits to California through TRANSCEND (Training Program to Advance Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Research, Education and Workforce Diversity). UCR has demonstrated success in educating the next generation of underrepresented minority (URM) scientists at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. We will build on these successes to train CIRM PhD and postdoctoral researchers who will contribute to the diversity of the California stem cell workforce and facilitate economic growth in the Inland Empire, a region without economic privilege. As a major education and research institution in the Inland Empire, our campus has been consistently ranked #1 in the nation for social mobility, which is a measure of the degree to which universities lift graduates into higher income brackets. TRANSCEND will integrate critical courses with multidisciplinary research projects to train next-generation graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the areas of stem cell research and regenerative medicine. TRANSCEND trainees will achieve an integrated education in stem cell biology, engineering, bioethics, and science to policy, while developing communication skills and contributing to the creation of new knowledge in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Our program includes a broad range of research areas that span basic stem cell biology to translational medicine. With this education, our trainees will be well prepared to contribute to the California workforce, while at the same time augmenting its diversity. Discoveries made by TRANSCEND trainees will benefit Californians by leading to new therapeutics, diagnostics, and medical devices for managing diseases, trauma, and the quality of life. Most of our trainees will come from the Inland Empire, a disadvantaged region with great diversity and many families with unmet medical needs. Our program will benefit economic development and growth in California, especially in the Inland Empire. Our cohort of well-qualified stem cell scientists will be ready to fill positions in the Inland Empire thereby enhancing their social mobility, while simultaneously aiding economic development by motivating biotech industries to locate in the Inland Empire. Taken together, TRANSCEND trainees will benefit the citizens of California by contributing to the diversity of the stem cell workforce, making new discoveries that lead to improvements in stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine, and assisting with economic development in the Inland Empire region of California.

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