# MARC at University of California, San Diego

> **NIH NIH T34** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2023 · $430,972

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
A diverse educational and scientific community including people with different life experiences, cultural
backgrounds, and ethnicities is vital for developing a robust workforce that can address the technological and
social challenges of the U.S. in a new global and interconnected economy. Unfortunately, there is tremendous
disparity in the U.S. scientific community in which individuals from disadvantaged economic and social
backgrounds, with disabilities, and from some ethnic groups (i.e., African, Native, and Latino Americans) are
underrepresented and therefore unable to contribute their talents. Therefore, a forceful approach should be
developed to correct the lack of diversity within the scientific community. A starting point for this approach is at
colleges and universities where students from underserved communities that do not have the same resources
to support higher education begin their education. Indeed, the socio-economic reality of underprivileged
students is likely to negatively impact their interest in research. To overcome the obstacles of preventing the
pursuit of scientific careers, we are proposing the establishment of a “Maximizing Access to Research Careers”
(MARC) program at UC San Diego with the mission is to unlock the potential of students from
underrepresented ethnic groups in science, from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds and students
with disabilities. The proposed MARC program is directed at motivating, training, mentoring, and facilitating the
transition of undergraduate students from college to a Ph.D. program. This new MARC program at UC San
Diego will be built on the success of 14 years of experience obtained from an undergraduate “Initiative for
Maximizing Student Development” (IMSD) program. The proposed MARC program is composed of two
consecutive phases to accomplish our goals. An initial Pre-MARC “Boot Camp” training where students
acquire the fundamental scientific skills to be successful in research activities (Phase 1), which is followed by
immersing scholars into a rich scientific environment by participating in a research project under the
supervision and mentorship of internationally recognized, productive, and well-funded investigators with
outstanding training records (Phase 2). In this setting, trainees enhance their initial scientific training by gaining
expertise in experimental planning, time management, data collection, interpretation, reproducibility,
presentations, and ethics, with the final goal of enrolling in a Ph.D. program. These phases will be
accompanied by leadership and career development training to increase students’ self-identity and self-efficacy
as scientists, thus supporting their pursuit of a research career.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10630028
- **Project number:** 1T34GM149445-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Antonio De Maio
- **Activity code:** T34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $430,972
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-06-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10630028

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10630028, MARC at University of California, San Diego (1T34GM149445-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10630028. Licensed CC0.

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