# VCU Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program (IMSD)

> **NIH NIH T32** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $270,995

## Abstract

Project Summary
The VCU Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program has had an outstanding record of
educating underrepresented scholars in biomedical research since its inception in 2010. The IMSD program
previously supported as a R25 is now being formalized under a T32 mechanism while maintaining the rigor and
excellence of training underrepresented minorities in biomedical sciences. The program has enrolled 26 pre-
doctoral students and graduated 10 scholars with a PhD, with 13 that are currently in training. Our graduates
have gone on to careers as scientists in biomedical industries and into postdoctoral research positions at highly
prestigious institutions. The VCU IMSD program has a strong emphasis on mentorship with faculty receiving
mentorship training. Safe lab practices, rigor and reproducibility and quantitative studies are essential elements
within this training program to ensure that we develop a diverse pool of scientists with skills to impact biomedical
research. The IMSD program is housed within the Center on Health Disparities and forms part of an integrative
cohort of NIGMS supported research training programs. Three students per year will be selected from a growing
pool of applicants to the biomedical research programs at VCU School of Medicine and receive funding for two
years, resulting in a cohort of 6 funded scholars/year. The VCU IMSD T32 is an interdisciplinary program with
state-of-the-art biomedical research training in diverse disciplines (Neuroscience, Microbiology and Immunology,
Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physiology and Biophysics, Molecular and Human Genetics). In addition to the
discipline specific requirements, the IMSD program will provide curricular activities that include opportunities to
engage in health disparities courses. Incorporating health disparities courses into graduate-level curriculum will
be of additional value in developing competencies necessary for biomedical professions and in motivating
students to help eliminate health disparities during their diverse careers. IMSD scholars will be accepted into the
program early and exposed to a pre-PhD program during summer prior to matriculation to their PhD programs.
The pre-PhD program will focus on developing critical thinking skills, provide laboratory research and mini-
course in Biochemistry to prepare students for the rigor of graduate training. Mentors will receive training in
several aspects of mentoring including effective communication and developing compacts with the mentees. A
cohort of faculty members have been trained as facilitators for mentoring, including the PI’s of this training grant.
The long-term goal of this program is to increase the applicant pool of underrepresented minorities to the PhD
programs and facilitate trainees to pursue biomedical research as a career path. It is expected that the VCU
IMSD program will continue to enrich the individual student scholar, the broader learning community and the
nations ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10758611
- **Project number:** 5T32GM148403-02
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** HAMID I AKBARALI
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $270,995
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-02-01 → 2028-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10758611

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10758611, VCU Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program (IMSD) (5T32GM148403-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10758611. Licensed CC0.

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