# Mentoring Institute for Neuroscience Diversity Scholars

> **NIH NIH R25** · CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK · 2020 · $269,122

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Despite many years of discussion, research, and efforts to promote change, a great disparity remains between
the presence of African American, Hispanic, Native American, People with Disabilities, and other
underrepresented minority (URM) faculty at US research universities and their representation in the US
population. This reality is no less true in the neurosciences than in other disciplines. Moreover, URMs who do
achieve faculty status appear to achieve traditional measures of success at a lower rate than do their majority
counterparts. Although data on publications and funding rates appear to be lacking, there is a striking absence
of URMs in visible positions of prominence as full professors or chairs at universities and as symposia
speakers, journal editors, or societal officers. We believe that these two problems are related – that if those
URMs who are faculty become more successful in regard to those measures, this in turn will stimulate an influx
of other URMs into faculty ranks. Our evaluation of available programs in the US indicates that there are
limited opportunities to adequately assist early career URM faculty in overcoming these difficulties, and it is this
problem that we seek to address through the Mentoring Institute for Neuroscience Diversity Scholars (MINDS)
to promote the advancement of junior faculty members in the neurosciences at research universities. Defining
success for such faculty in terms of quality and quantity of manuscripts, grants submitted, and funded, visibility
at the national level, mentoring of others by the participants, and promotion, we propose to establish a program
based on the following hypothesis: The success of early career URM faculty in neuroscience can be increased
substantially by an intensive individualized educational program focused on (1) and individualized career
development plan and the identification of a team of relevant mentors (2) strong instruction in professional
skills and the responsible conduct of research (RCR), (3) individualized and frequent mentoring by senior
established faculty (4) development of an expanded network and peer-mentoring, and (5) the promotion and
enhancement of the career of URM faculty at their own institutions. To test this hypothesis we will continue the
MINDS program to advance the development of URM faculty. We will recruit 10 early career URM faculty in
neuroscience each year who have great promise for success. We will then develop career development
programs for each participant and together the participant and mentoring team will develop a career
development plan. To facilitate that plan we will establish a two-year educational program consisting of (a)
workshops, (b) strong mentoring, (c) attendance at professional scientific meetings, (d) assistance in the
expansion of their network, and (e) mechanisms to promote communication and peer-mentoring among the
participants. The impact of our efforts will be evaluated and the results disseminate...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10016383
- **Project number:** 5R25NS076414-08
- **Recipient organization:** CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
- **Principal Investigator:** Gonzalo E. Torres
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $269,122
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-01-15 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10016383

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10016383, Mentoring Institute for Neuroscience Diversity Scholars (5R25NS076414-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10016383. Licensed CC0.

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