# Virginia Tech Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (VT PREP)

> **NIH NIH R25** · VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND ST UNIV · 2024 · $374,968

## Abstract

Virginia Tech (VT) requests renewal of its successful Post-baccalaureate Research and Education program
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(VT PREP) for another five years. Now in its 19 year, with proven and innovative approaches for recruiting,
supporting, mentoring, and training underrepresented minorities (URMs), VT PREP continues its impactful
process that now has 45 PhDs. Admission into our PREP is very competitive at less than 10% with an
applicant pool that is national, including applicants from Puerto Rico and the US Territories. Based on this
success, we propose to add an additional slot to each cohort, for a total of 45 trainees. In the current cycle
(2018-2023), and including the gap year of support (2017), 22/29 or 76% of those who completed PREP,
matriculated into Ph.D. programs at institutions such as Columbia, UNC, Yale, and the University of
California (Davis, Irvine, and San Diego). In addition to the diversity of our applicants, the diversity of
disciplines was also extensive ranging from biomedical engineering to neuroscience and computational
modeling. Our unique and impactful program includes distinct activities that target three overlapping phases
of each trainee’s tenure: “Moving in”, “Moving through”, and “Moving out.” The research education and
mentoring activities in the “Moving in” phase are structured to enable easy transition to VT and a rural college
town, and to learn about the trainees and for the trainees to learn about biomedical science and what it will
take to succeed as a PREP scholar. Informed by our assessment in earlier cycles, the mentor selection
process continues to be scholar-driven following three 4-week mini lab rotations each. During the “Moving
through” phase, each trainee has individualized educational activities and mentoring structured to enable
success in gaining admission to top PhD programs. Complementing these educational activities is a seminar
series, which starts during the “Moving in Bootcamp,” entitled “Getting into and Succeeding in Graduate
School.” All the speakers are PREP alums at least two years post PREP. In the “Moving out” phase, research
training becomes a top priority and communications skills, including writing and oral, are further enhanced
to help with graduate school interviews and in identity construction. Although we are proposing to continue
using a training approach that has been very effective, a new training tool that is unique to VT PREP are
the lived experiences of our PREP/IMSD alumni, 86 of whom have a PhD and are pursuing careers in
academia, industry, the NIH, and private institutions. These alums and those still in training will be “virtual”
alumni mentors. Dr. Achenie brings significant experience in mentoring students as a tenured professor
with a background in mathematical modeling and quantitative skills. These complement the leadership and
genomic training of the PD, which have been the hallmark of VT PREP for the last three cycles. Institutional
support will continue to be very stron...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849666
- **Project number:** 5R25GM066534-20
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INST AND ST UNIV
- **Principal Investigator:** Edward J Smith
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $374,968
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2003-08-04 → 2025-03-21

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849666

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849666, Virginia Tech Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (VT PREP) (5R25GM066534-20). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849666. Licensed CC0.

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