# IMSD at the University of Rochester

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2024 · $344,844

## Abstract

Project Summary: The primary objective of The Hub at Rochester: Educating and Advancing Deaf/hard of
hearing graduate Students, (THREADgS) is to rigorously train deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) pre-doctoral
Scholars and support their advance into independent academic careers within biomedical research enterprise.
This is a vital unmet national need: the D/HH community is greatly underrepresented in the biomedical science
academic workforce. Even so, there is no T32 program at any United States research-intensive university that
focuses on training D/HH graduate students. The University of Rochester (UR) and the Rochester community
as a whole have the resources and infrastructure to support D/HH learners at all other career stages. As the UR
expands support for D/HH learners, THREADgS will also stimulate the further development of infrastructure to
support American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter training in scientific terminology through a centralized
mechanism. It will improve the environment for D/HH scientists, by “mentoring the mentors” to actively maintain
inclusive communication strategies for D/HH trainees. Also, by freely disseminating our approach and outcomes,
a successful implementation of this proposal will improve training for D/HH STEM graduate students everywhere.
Our goals are: 1.) Double the number of D/HH graduate Scholars at URSMD in five years, an NIH Category B
demographic – individuals with disabilities – that are critically underrepresented in biomedical research. 2.)
Complete our NIGMS-funded pipeline for D/HH training in biomedical research, which currently supports
undergraduates, masters’ students, and Ph.D. fellows, but not graduate Scholars. This is the only career pipeline
for D/HH individuals at any research-intensive institution. 3.) Dramatically improve Deaf-aware mentoring
through institutional support of formal training. 4.) Promote retention, social cohesion, and identification as
biomedical researchers among D/HH graduate Scholars to improve graduate rates and reduce training time. 5.)
Improve scientific training for all D/HH biomedical researchers by contributing to established lexicons of technical
signs in American Sign Language (ASL) and by freely disseminating both our approach and outcomes as peer-
reviewed articles. We will recruit 3 new D/HH scholars per year, with a maximum of a three-year appointment in
T32 funding, to maintain a steady state of 9 D/HH Scholars within the program. As trainees leave T32 funding
and complete their graduate studies, they will build a larger D/HH scholar community. Overall, this unique T32
program will equip our Scholars with the knowledge and research skills necessary for successful career
advancement. The ultimate goal is that our Scholars will achieve full-time academic appointments in higher
education and/or research institutions to reduce the dearth of D/HH faculty serving the nation's biomedical
research needs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10757914
- **Project number:** 5T32GM148295-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** CRAIG N MORRELL
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $344,844
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-02-01 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10757914

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10757914, IMSD at the University of Rochester (5T32GM148295-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10757914. Licensed CC0.

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