# Michigan Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2020 · $396,213

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
A Post-baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) was inaugurated in 2009 at the University of
Michigan to increase the ability of under-represented (UR) students to be accepted into and succeed in
obtaining doctoral degrees from excellent doctoral (Ph.D.) programs in the biological, bioengineering,
biophysical, bioinformatics, chemical and biomedical disciplines throughout the country. With this renewal
application, including the appointment of Dr. Nils Walter, Professor of Chemistry and Biophysics, as Associate
Director, we are making a major effort to extend the program to the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
(LSA). In support of this effort, Dr. Jeannie Hernandez, Assistant Director, is an American Cancer Society
Fellow in the Department of Chemistry, performing innovative cancer studies in Dr. Brent Martin's lab. Through
a combination of NIH support and institutional support, PREP trainees will receive training in research in: 1)
biomedical sciences, biological engineering and chemical engineering in the Medical School and College of
Engineering; 2) Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the College of LSA; 3) Medicinal Chemistry in the School of
Pharmacy; 4) Computational Biology through the campus wide program in Bioinformatics; and 5) public health
disciplines, including epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health. A second year of PREP
support will be available to trainees who are not admitted to excellent programs in these disciplines after their
fist 4.5 to 5 months in the program (i.e. in “year one”). These students can remain in the program for a second
year of research training, insufficient research experience being the usual reason such students do not achieve
graduate admission in year one. Over the six years of the MI PREP program, only three trainees have needed
this second year. The University of Michigan has a strong history of encouraging undergraduates to engage in
research careers and in recent years has gained national attention through its commitment to recruiting a
diverse and talented student population at all levels (from undergraduate to graduate programs to professional
programs). This commitment has been renewed this year in a major Diversity Initiative led by the new
University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel, M.D. Ph.D. (http://www.diversity.umich.edu). The Principal
Investigator for this proposal, Dr. Kate Barald, is a member of the newly formed commission as well as serving
as the Rackham Graduate School Faculty Ally for Diversity in Cell and Developmental Biology and Biomedical
Engineering. Dr. Nils Walter, Associate Director for PREP, is the Faculty Ally for Diversity for the Department
of Chemistry in LSA. In the biosciences, engineering and public health, there are extensive research
opportunities for PREP trainees and strong and coordinated graduate programs in all these disciplines that
have been successful in recruiting and graduating a diverse ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9876945
- **Project number:** 5R25GM086262-12
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Benjamin Allen
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $396,213
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2009-03-01 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9876945

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9876945, Michigan Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (5R25GM086262-12). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9876945. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*