# NIDDK Short-Term Education Program for Underrepresented Persons at UCLA (UCLA STEP-UP)

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2020 · $194,053

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Through the NIDDK Short-Term Education Program for Underrepresented Persons (STEP-UP), the David
Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) proposes to implement the
UCLA STEP-UP, as one of two sites dedicated to coordinating the recruitment of students from the 48
contiguous United States (excluding American Indian students as per the RFA) over the 5-year award period.
The program will provide an in-depth, mentored health sciences immersion experience each summer to 25
promising underrepresented high school students who are committed to a career in NIDDK mission areas,
including diabetes, endocrinology, metabolism, nutrition, obesity, and digestive, urologic, kidney, and
hematologic diseases.
 The main goal of this program is provide a robust summer biomedical science research experience
reinforced by an ongoing year round mentoring program to these 25 promising underrepresented high school
students from around the nation who otherwise would likely not have access to a promising career path in the
sciences.
 The UCLA STEP-UP program will include an introductory web-based research conduct and lab/clinic
readiness training curriculum, an informal mentor-led laboratory and research orientation, opportunities for
attendance at various research forums, specialized student-specific research assignments and activities, and
support for students to attend the annual NIH student research symposium where they will present their
research findings to their peers and senior researchers. The specific aims of the UCLA Step-Up are to:
 1. Provide a rewarding 8 week mentored summer research experience to 25 underrepresented high
 school students annually, which includes education in research principles, research conduct, and the
 presentation of science;
 2. Provide intensive mentoring to each student by active research faculty;
 3. Fully participate in the national STEP-UP symposium at NIH/NIDDK, where the students make oral
 and/or poster presentations to peers and established researchers using the standard presentation
 format of national scientific meetings; and
 4. Evaluate the impact of UCLA STEP-UP on key early hallmarks of success that predict students' ability
 to excel in the biomedical and health professional sciences.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9869893
- **Project number:** 5R25DK113659-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Lourdes Guerrero
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $194,053
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-03-01 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9869893

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9869893, NIDDK Short-Term Education Program for Underrepresented Persons at UCLA (UCLA STEP-UP) (5R25DK113659-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9869893. Licensed CC0.

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