# Emory Initiative to Maximize Student Development

> **NIH NIH R25** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $523,024

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of this new Initiative to Maximize Student Diversity (IMSD) proposal is to build on an existing IMSD
program at Emory University to increase the diversity of the scientific workforce. In spite of many years of
increased focus on diversity, the rate of enrollment and graduation of under-represented (UR) students in
undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the biological and behavioral sciences is markedly lower that
of the general population. Emory University is a highly rated teaching and research institution with over 14,200
students that is located in Atlanta, Georgia. Emory’s record of recruiting, retaining and graduating diverse
students is significant. Approximately 15% of each entering graduate class is underrepresented (UR);
undergraduate classes are 20%, having doubled since the early 90’s. The biomedical and behavioral science
departments at Emory awarded 1,667 BS, 805 MS and 149 PhD degrees to UR students in the most recent
fifteen-year period. After receiving only three years of support in 2013, Emory’s Initiative for Maximizing
Student Development (IMSD) program has made significant progress towards enhancing the mentoring
environment and providing career development and support to undergraduate and graduate students. The long-
term goal of the Emory IMSD is to increase the average number of UR students obtaining PhDs in the biomedical
sciences by placing at least two-thirds of IMSD Undergraduate Scholars in graduate programs and graduating
90% of IMSD Graduate Fellows and placing them in strong postdoctoral positions. In this new IMSD proposal,
we seek to continue our success and further enhance the impact of the Emory IMSD as we develop an inclusive
community and a continuum of mentoring and career development programming via three specific aims
and a structured plan to transition from the prior leadership to a new leadership team. Aim 1 will continue with
efforts to build a learning community of IMSD Undergraduate Scholars. We will increase the number of Emory
undergraduate UR students majoring in the biomedical/behavioral/quantitative sciences who receive a Ph.D. in
a science-related field to 12 per year. This will more than double our ten-year average that existed when the
Emory IMSD program was first proposed (4.8 per year from 2003-2012) and remove all demographic disparity.
Aim 2 will enhance and build a learning community of IMSD Graduate Fellows. Through these efforts, we will
recruit 40 additional UR PhD students over five years, with over 90% completing the PhD. Finally, Aim 3 will
provide formal training in mentoring for both faculty and graduate students in the Emory community and the
greater Atlanta area by continuing efforts to develop a community of mentors, the Atlanta Society of Mentors
(ASOM), with transferable skills applicable at all levels and adept in issues of diversity. These aims will have
significant impact by building on our prior success with creating an inclusive and integra...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9933012
- **Project number:** 5R25GM125598-03
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** ANITA H. CORBETT
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $523,024
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9933012

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9933012, Emory Initiative to Maximize Student Development (5R25GM125598-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9933012. Licensed CC0.

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