# Orange County Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 2020 · $85,317

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The Minority Science Programs (MSP) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) are nationally recognized for
developing innovative programs to improve the academic excellence and increase the number of
underrepresented (UR) community college (CC) and UCI undergraduates being trained as the next generation
of biomedical researchers. The objective of the Orange County Bridges to Baccalaureate is to jointly develop a
research education program with Orange Coast College (OCC) that will increase the number and academic
excellence of UR CC students that transfer to science majors at four-year universities, obtain baccalaureate
degrees, and pursue Ph.D. degrees and biomedical research careers. We propose to increase participants’
interest, motivation and academic preparedness by developing cohorts of UR students enrolled in the first
biology transferable class offered at OCC to instill a sense of belonging to a collegial scientific community,
receive extra tutoring and prepare participants for introductory biomedical research experiences at UCI.
Participants begin research training as early as freshmen year, and they are expected to transfer and become
competitive applicants for junior-level undergraduate training positions in the university laboratories. Main
program components to mentor, motivate and prepare trainees are the integration of courses for skills
development, research experiences and curriculum development. Skills development encompasses 1) training
in critical reading, writing and reasoning, 2) a course on advanced laboratory methods, genomics and data
analysis, 3) training in responsible conduct of research, 4) a research faculty seminar series to introduce
participants to diverse areas of biomedical research, 5) a journal club to discuss primary literature, 6) progress
report sessions to improve presentation skills, and 7) oral and poster presentations at local and national
conferences. Over 40 UCI faculty with experience training underrepresented students serve as research
mentors. Research experiences focus on preparing participants to become independent thinkers. Bridges
participants experience the excitement of generating new knowledge in the course of conducting original
research. Faculty focus groups serve to improve inter-institutional articulation in science courses and
preparation of students by discussing curricular sequence, normalization of curricula between institutions, use
of technology in the classroom, assessment and instructional strategies that inculcate an interest in the pursuit
of advanced scientific studies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10145989
- **Project number:** 3R25GM056647-20S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Marlene De La Cruz
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $85,317
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1997-09-30 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10145989

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10145989, Orange County Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program (3R25GM056647-20S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10145989. Licensed CC0.

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