# MARC U-STAR PROGRAM AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

> **NIH NIH T34** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $422,800

## Abstract

Project Summary
The Washington University MARC U-STAR Program seeks to be part of a larger national effort that promotes
diversity in scientific research and the scientific workforce. Teams composed of individuals from diverse
backgrounds typically outperform teams composed of individuals from similar backgrounds. For the United
States to remain the worldwide leader in research, it must realize the tremendous scientific potential inherent
within its diverse population, much of which currently lies untapped within the underrepresented and
underserved communities. By focusing on research, scientific presentation, and community, our program seeks
to unlock this scientific potential, and in doing so help change the face of the next generation of scientists.
This application requests funds to support ten trainees in our MARC Program. By driving excellence and
innovation in research-based education, our program's mission is to help underrepresented students
succeed in the lab and classroom, matriculate into top PhD and MD/PhD programs, and excel in them. We
focus on three goals to achieve this mission: to provide students top-notch research experiences; to train
them to think critically and to write and speak effectively about science; and to create a positive, personal,
and critical scientific community in which they thrive. We center our program around the research experience
and have developed ten activities that span the two-year, junior- and senior-level program and seek to create a
supportive community in which students obtain rigorous training in research and scientific presentation via
individualized training and critique.
Our MARC Program, which was created in 2008, occupies a unique educational niche within Washington
University. It is the only program that supports underrepresented students during both the academic year and
summer to carry out research. It also incorporates a university-funded, Pre-MARC summer research program
for students who just completed their first-year in college to allow them to experience research, often for the first
time, and to help recruit these students into the MARC Program at the end of their sophomore year. Positive
student feedback on the MARC program illustrates its importance in driving student success and developing a
community in which underrepresented students thrive, with a recent surge in student applications leading to a
quadrupling in program size made possible through additional financial support from diverse university sources.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10202136
- **Project number:** 1T34GM141639-01
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** James Benjamin Skeath
- **Activity code:** T34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $422,800
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10202136

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10202136, MARC U-STAR PROGRAM AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS (1T34GM141639-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10202136. Licensed CC0.

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