# UC Denver MARC U-STAR

> **NIH NIH T34** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2020 · $295,092

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
As the United States becomes more diverse, it is imperative that institutions of higher education accelerate their efforts to
ensure equity in the number of doctoral degrees awarded to students who are members of underrepresented (UR) groups.
The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is committed to this goal, and uniquely situated culturally and
geographically to meet this need. The CU Denver campus is consolidated with the Anschutz Medical Campus (Anschutz)
and, together, is classified as a “Doctoral University: Higher Research Activity”, with more than $400 million in annual
sponsored research funding. As such, CU Denver is the only urban public research university in the State of Colorado,
and it has the most diverse student body of any University of Colorado campus. In 2016, at least 34% of entering
freshmen identified as underrepresented minority (URM) students and at least 57% as students of color. CU Denver was
awarded its first MARC U-STAR award on May 22, 2013 (NIGMS T34 GM096958; 2013-2018), and is one of only two
in the state. This competing renewal expands the successful initial development of the CU Denver MARC U-STAR
program in several important ways. First, it broadens the focus of the first award (supporting students in the biomedical-
oriented behavioral sciences) to the biomedical sciences more broadly by providing 24-month support to 40 additional
rising junior undergraduates (eight new scholars per year) majoring in Integrative Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, and
Public Health. Second, it expands and further institutionalizes a series of successful undergraduate Behavioral and
Biomedical Research training courses, developed for the MARC program and taken by all MARC scholars, to accompany
and facilitate their authentic research experiences. Third, it leverages and supports an institutionally-funded pre-MARC
“U-RISE” program, developed by the principal investigators and program staff, to identify and support freshman,
sophomore, and transfer students with authentic research experiences that engage early interests in research careers. The
CU Denver MARC program complements and extends other training programs at CU Denver and Anschutz, expanding an
institutional culture that supports the success of UR students and their entrance into doctoral programs in the biomedical
sciences. The new efforts described here, focused on expanding our initial successful work with recruitment and training
of MARC scholars from the Psychology Department, and building the base of students interested in these opportunities,
are complemented by a rigorous, external program evaluation that continuously assesses the effectiveness and relevance
of our program activities, and includes intentional outcomes in program optimization and scholarly dissemination. The
MARC program enjoys strong institutional support and has already helped transform the climate of diversity and
inclusion at CU Denver. These efforts, together with an outstandi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9932362
- **Project number:** 5T34GM096958-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** RICHARD M ALLEN
- **Activity code:** T34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $295,092
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9932362

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9932362, UC Denver MARC U-STAR (5T34GM096958-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9932362. Licensed CC0.

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