# Undergraduate Summer Research Opportunities in Maternal, Child and Family Health

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON · 2020 · $105,986

## Abstract

Healthy People 2020 addresses gaping disparities in health behaviors, outcomes and quality of health care in
African American, Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native populations. A key national strategy for reducing
these disparities is to increase the number of scientists and professionals from these populations working in
the health research arena. Health disparities mirror educational disparities, in that both are rooted in economic
disadvantage. Large income gaps are associated with lower rates of completion of baccalaureate degrees,
which challenges our national goals for training a diverse public health workforce to meet national health equity
goals. As Smith and colleagues (2009) suggest, without intentionally and substantially supporting the academic
success of minority students, progress will not be made in the elimination of health disparities. Internships and
mentoring have been shown to increase both retention rates and the likelihood of pursuing a graduate degree
among minority students. One critical area in this workforce pipeline is maternal and child health, where ethnic
and racial disparities are associated with infant mortality, low birth weight, childhood obesity, adolescent
pregnancy and youth sexual risk behaviors. This proposal addresses these very challenges through an
intensive summer research program that engages diverse cohorts of UMass Boston undergraduate students
(12 per year) in innovative educational activities and in-depth experiences working on funded maternal, child
and family health research projects being led by five UMass Boston faculty. Transition supports are included to
bolster student career progression. UMass Boston is an ideal site for such a program, having recently made
significant strides in increasing its regional, national and international research credentials, while in tandem
providing opportunities for undergraduate research. A US Department of Education Title III Institution, UMass
Boston’s student population is 56% first-generation, and 33% of its 12,847 undergraduates are under-
represented minorities. We strive to provide numerous and rich opportunities for students to perform research,
interact with the community, build core skills, and sustain their pursuit of research as their career and passion.
Specific aims of this proposal are to: (1) Plan, implement and evaluate a 10-week mentored undergraduate
summer research program. Evaluation of student and mentor experiences will include collection of the
following quantitative and qualitative data: (a) Pre- and post-program survey data to quantify changes in
students’ view of science as a career, perceived learning, and awareness of future education and work in
maternal and child health; (b) Pre- and post-program assessments of changes in students’ global and role-
based self-efficacy; (c) Post-program structured interviews to assess students’ and mentors’ perspectives on
students’ experiences and learning, program quality and need for improve...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9902475
- **Project number:** 5R25HD090723-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Sherry Tiffany Donaldson
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $105,986
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9902475

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9902475, Undergraduate Summer Research Opportunities in Maternal, Child and Family Health (5R25HD090723-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9902475. Licensed CC0.

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