Minority Biomedical Research Support (MBRS) Programs

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
Over the past three decades, undergraduate and graduate students have been received research training and financial support from the CSU MBRS Programs. More than 400 students have graduated with B.S. degrees in biology, chemistry or physics and 50 have earned M.S. degrees in biology. One-hundred-and-three (103) students have gone on to doctoral degrees in biology, chemistry, medicine, or medically-related professions at prestigious schools, such as University of Illinois, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Mississippi, University of Texas, Louisiana State University, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Howard University, Meharry Medical College, Stanford University, Temple University, and Wayne State University.

Prior to 1999, both research support and student development activities were centered on one program. Since 1999, student-development activities for undergraduates have been funded by the RISE Program while research is supported by the SCORE Program.

Since the division of the MBRS Program into RISE and SCORE, 153 RISE scholars have been awarded baccalaureate degrees in the sciences and 39 have progressed to Ph.D. programs. RISE alumni who did not go on to graduate programs have obtained employment in teaching, health profession areas both in the public sector (hospitals and medical laboratories) and in private industry (pharmaceutical companies). Participation in MBRS workshops or research projects is equated by many employers to job experience and gives CSU graduates a competitive advantage in the job market.

FACULTY RESEARCH
The NIH MBRS Program is the largest single source of non-state support for faculty-led research at CSU. Over past two decades, sixteen projects have received support from the NIH and have provided vital resources for research training for undergraduates and graduate students. Since 1999, student training has been assumed by the RISE Program while faculty research is supported by the MBRS SCORE Program. Four research projects are currently funded by the MBRS SCORE Program and five more are currently under review for funding in 2008.

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION & STAFF
RISE Program. The principal personnel are the Program Director, Program  Secretary and four faculty Project Principal Investigators and a Project Coordinator.
SCORE Program. Four faculty Principal Investigators are currently supported by the MBRS-SCORE Program, and five more have applications under review at the NIH. Over the past two decades an additional eleven faculty research projects have received support from the SCORE Program and the earlier MBRS Program.

Dr. Rachel Lindsey is the PD of the RISE Program and Dr. Warren Sherman directs SCORE. They are assisted by a fifteen-member Advisory Committee composed of the PIs of the SCORE Program, the RISE faculty, and additional faculty and administrators. 

STUDENT PARTICIPATION in RISE & SCORE
The MBRS RISE Program employs undergraduate students as research trainees. Students majoring in biology, chemistry, physics, or other biomedically-related areas who are interested in pursuing careers in scientific research may participate in either on-campus SCORE research projects or off-campus at research universities such as Northwestern or the University of Chicago. The RISE Program also employs students as student aides in MBRS laboratories, as peer tutors in the RESKUE project, in the TILT summer project and in the GRASP workshops on the GRE and graduate-school application process.

By participating in the RISE and SCORE projects, students learn scientific concepts, skills and techniques beyond those taught in the regular classroom. They learn to apply techniques and carry out procedures to which they may only briefly be exposed in traditional science courses. From these experiences, students obtain a much greater appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of biomedical research and the interrelatedness of their studies. Additionally, travel support provides students with unique opportunities to attend national scientific meetings and network with leading scientists with national reputations.

For Undergraduates
Students must be attending CSU on a full-time basis and normally possess a GPA minimum of 3.0. (In exceptional circumstances, students will be accepted with less than 3.0 if they are progressing towards this goal.) APPLICATION FORMS may be downloaded by clicking here.  On completion, please submit it to MBRS Secretary Ms. Debra Walls, SCIENCE BUILDING, ROOM 222 (telephone: 773-995-2279; fax: 773-995-2169). The completed form will be reviewed by Dr. Warren V. Sherman and the MBRS faculty.  Dr. Sherman will inform the applicant of his/her placement.  He can be reached at 773-995-2322 (e-mail: wsherman@csu.edu).

Graduate students normally initiate the application procedure by making contact with a faculty member whose research is supported by the  SCORE Program and with whom they wish to do their thesis research. The current list of SCORE-supported faculty may be found in the SCORE section of this website.

Note: The RISE program is not currently mandated to provide financial support for graduate students.

FINANCIAL BENEFITS TO THE UNIVERSITY
The following is a summary of recent CSU MBRS budgets:

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Page last updated 12/04/07

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