# G-RISE at UC Merced

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED · 2022 · $583,850

## Abstract

We propose a graduate research training program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Science and Technology
(I-BioSTeP) at the University of California Merced, a Hispanic-serving institution that opened in 2005. The
major objective of this program is the establishment of the first doctoral level graduate training program at UC
Merced in the biomedical sciences to train diverse cohorts of students to identify and solve pressing
biological problems using quantitative interdisciplinary approaches that prepare them for competitive
careers in the biomedical field. Transformative advances in the biomedical research arena increasingly
require contributions from many different fields and I-BioSTeP leverages the uniquely interdisciplinary
structure at UCM, to join faculty from six different departments forming a diverse, interdisciplinary
research community with a common vision for research and education. Because UCM is still in its
developmental stages, an initiative like I-BioSTeP can have truly transformative impact by establishing a
nucleus of high quality training and research on campus. As part of the program we will establish an I-
BioSTeP designated emphasis (a graduate minor) open to all graduate students in science and engineering
who participate in the new coursework we are developing, thus enhancing the overall graduate training
offerings on campus. Opening a training program for the highly skilled biomedical research workforce
of tomorrow at UC Merced will also have an enormous impact on the region, producing a diverse cohort of
trained professionals that will raise the economic and educational standards of the surrounding educationally
and economically disadvantaged communities.
The specific objectives of our program are (i) to increase the diversity of our trainee cohorts (ii) to ensure
retention and speed up the time to degree (iii) to produce graduates with a broad training in an
interdisciplinary curriculum for biomedical sciences and (iv) to inculcate a sense of belonging and
teamwork skills and (v) to ensure successful transition into the biomedical research workforce. There are
many unique aspects of our proposed program that specifically address these objectives including the
diversity of our current graduate student body and applicant pool that we target, a core interdisciplinary
curriculum of courses with lab components, a summer bridge program that addresses retention by
bringing students out two months before classes and immersing them in hands-on training, mentoring
and professional development such as fellowship proposal writing, an interdisciplinary multiple mentor
structure and a unique career development program that focuses on specific skills that are important in the
biomedical research workforce but are commonly not addressed in such training programs -
business/entrepreneurial skills and science communication skills.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10372202
- **Project number:** 5T32GM141862-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED
- **Principal Investigator:** Ajay Gopinathan
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $583,850
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10372202

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10372202, G-RISE at UC Merced (5T32GM141862-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10372202. Licensed CC0.

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