# Development of Modules to Train Minority Undergraduate Students in Biomedical Research Expertise

> **NIH NIH T34** · ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $86,400

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) is a historically black institution located in Northeastern
North Carolina (NENC), one of the most economically distressed regions of North Carolina. Due,
in part, to the mission of ECSU and its rural setting, most of the student population originates
from within the NENC region. An institutional self-study identified three major challenges in
producing graduates competitive for PhD programs. These challenges are: (i) lack of academic
role models for first-generation college freshman and student self-efficacy issues; (ii)
achievement gaps in academics between Underrepresented Minority (URM) and majority
students; and (iii) lack of skills in producing competitive PhD program applications. ECSU
requests NIH/NIGMS support to continue its successful MARC U*STAR Training Program
designed to impact the challenges for students to PhD pathway, especially for students in
biomedical sciences, through the long-term goals of: (i) providing exceptional student research
training; (ii) increasing academic support; and (iii) broadly impacting the ECSU community to
promote student success with the ultimate goal of PhD degree matriculation. During the current
period of support, we have made significant progress towards achieving these goals. The
program supported 24 URM undergraduates in both on-campus and off-campus mentored
research at such prestigious RO1 universities, like Vanderbilt and Duke, and provided academic
and career counseling to these individuals toward competitive PhD application submissions. A
notable 65% MARC supported students are making solid progress towards completing doctoral
degrees and 90% of MARC scholars overall have completed their Bachelor’s degree and are
pursuing PhD and post-Baccalaureate programs in advanced biomedical and related fields.
These data are evidence that the ECSU MARC program is working, but also indicates the need
for continued support to continue our successes and to improve the quality of the experience
for new cohorts of trainees. To accomplish those goals, the specific aims of this competitive
renewal are to build on the past successes by: (i) selecting scholars that possess excellent
credentials and bona-fide desire to obtain PhDs; (ii) continuing to provide one-on-one
mentorship in research and PhD application submissions that increases the likelihood of
successful program acceptance; and (iii) provide institutional financial support alleviating
students from the distraction and potential derailment of working external jobs while pursuing
academics and research. The latter is important since many of our students are from families of
high economic need.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10393941
- **Project number:** 3T34GM100831-09S1
- **Recipient organization:** ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** HIRENDRA N BANERJEE
- **Activity code:** T34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $86,400
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2012-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10393941

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10393941, Development of Modules to Train Minority Undergraduate Students in Biomedical Research Expertise (3T34GM100831-09S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10393941. Licensed CC0.

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