# The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS · 2021 · $445,062

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The low number of college graduates from underrepresented (UR) groups in Arkansas, together with the
small number of UR students nationally who graduate in the biological sciences, results in a small pool of UR
students entering fields of biomedical research in Arkansas. To address this shortfall, the University of
Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Program was
created in 2009 to provide a comprehensive start-to-finish mentoring and training program that includes 2
years of support (salary, tuition, fees) for UR students pursuing biomedical PhD degrees. The overall goals of
the UAMS IMSD Program are to enhance our retention success with regard to UR students and to refine
strategies to recruit additional UR students. The specific measureable objective is for 90% of IMSD students to
complete the doctoral degree. The first Aim is to matriculate 6 new UR doctoral students each year. We will
enhance recruitment activities to attract UR students to UAMS and the IMSD Program. The Program recently
expanded to accept students from 3 doctoral programs (Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical
Sciences, Biomedical Informatics, and Pharmaceutical Sciences) two of which were started within the last 5
years. Aim 2 is to retain and graduate 90% of the students in the IMSD Program. Success will be built upon
past retention by enhancing the PhD Summer Transition Program for matriculated students, expanding student
development and retention activities, and enhancing our mentoring plan. The final Aim is to determine which
program components contribute to student success and which areas need improvement, and disseminate the
results. To identify the program components that contributed to past success and elucidate ways to improve,
the program will be evaluated and results will be disseminated to the UAMS campus and other schools through
the website, newsletters, presentations, and publications. The initiatives proposed here can contribute to the
global recruitment, retention, and graduation of all UR students at UAMS and provide lessons learned to other
institutions, which will ultimately increase the numbers of UR faculty and investigators in the biomedical
science workforce serving Arkansas and the nation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10101655
- **Project number:** 5R25GM083247-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert E McGehee
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $445,062
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-02-07 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10101655

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10101655, The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program (5R25GM083247-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10101655. Licensed CC0.

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