A group of four Detroit colleges and universities will share a $21.2 million federal grant to develop a program to steer more undergraduate students from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in biomedical research. Marygrove College, University of Detroit Mercy, Wayne County Community College District and Wayne State University will split the grant, which is for the next five years. "What is being announced today is great for Detroit and Detroit's institutions," Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson said. "The ultimate goal is to get students into biomedical programs and doing research." The local cooperative effort is part of a broader national effort, called Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity. The group is looking to have at least 75 percent of the students involved in the project to graduate with baccalaureate degrees in biomedical science or related fields and to have 50 percent of those graduates enroll into biomedical research doctoral programs. They will do so by developing common curriculum featuring mentored research. Wayne State is the research partner. It will mentor faculty from the other institutions in research skills, provide research-training opportunities and provide REBUILDetroit scholars with skill development in grant applications, graduate school preparedness and networking opportunities. It will also accelerate programs to help students get into and through doctoral programs.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2014/10/22/nih-grant-award-michigan-colleges-biomedical/17728187/
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/education/2014/10/22/detroit-colleges-federal-biomedical-grant/17731287/
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20141022/NEWS/141029938/nih-awards-21-2m-to-detroit-colleges-to-improve-diversity-in
http://mms.tveyes.com/Transcript.asp?StationID=8255&DateTime=10%2F23%2F2014+7%3A37%3A39+AM&LineNumber=&MediaStationID=8255&playclip=True&RefPage=
http://mms.tveyes.com/Transcript.asp?StationID=2785&DateTime=10%2F22%2F2014+5%3A36%3A29+PM&LineNumber=&MediaStationID=2785&playclip=True&RefPage=
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/22/federal-grant-promotes-biomedical-research-careers/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/health-fitness/article3273735.html
http://www.fox28.com/story/26866583/federal-grant-promotes-biomedical-research-careers
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/da96618f9bb84c2e9664abf76e34d0c0/MI--Biomedical-Research-Disadvantaged-Students/