# Rise to the Challenge Bridge

> **NIH NIH R25** · EL PASO COMMUNITY COLLEGE · 2020 · $324,000

## Abstract

With a student population exceeding 37,000, El Paso Community College (EPCC) is the largest
Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) located on the US-Mexico Border and the largest grantor of
Associate degrees to Hispanic students in the Nation. An average of 7114 students enroll in Biology
courses, 2610 in Chemistry courses, and 7565 in Psychology courses per year. EPCC's student population
closely mirrors the demographics of the region (88% URM, 85% Hispanic), and the students are already
interested in health issues and disparities that affect the US-Mexico border region. EPCC has pioneered
strategies to get students interested in biomedical research and entering the Ph.D. pipeline. EPCC was the
first community college to be funded by the RISE program. To date 159 EPCC RISE students have
transferred to a university and 90 graduated with baccalaureate degrees in biomedical sciences, 17 with
master's degrees, 12 with doctoral degrees, 20 are in graduate school, 4 have College/University faculty
positions. The proposed Rise to the Challenge Bridge program will keep the momentum generated by
the RISE Program, capitalize on the experience gained by this young institution in its efforts to prepare
students for biomedical research careers, and increase the number of EPCC students transferring to the
university and graduating with a baccalaureate degree.
 The goals of the proposed RISE to the Challenge Bridge between EPCC, UTEP and NMSU are 1) to
continue providing talented EPCC students with the tools to succeed and excel in their freshman and
sophomore-level biology, chemistry and math courses, 2) to continue strengthening the research knowledge
and skills of EPCC students and faculty and 3) to increase the number of minority and disadvantaged
students that transfer to a four-year institution with the skills necessary to graduate with a baccalaureate
degree and eventually a Ph.D in biomedical fields. Our goal is that the proposed Bridge program's
interventions will increase the 89% transfer rate and 57% BS graduation rate achieved by the RISE program
to date, to a 95% transfer rate and 65% graduation rate
 The specific aims are: 1) to enhance and enrich the EPCC Biology, Chemistry and Math curriculum
with proven interventions including Supplemental Instruction (SI) combined with the benefits of authentic
research experiences through Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), using a
multidisciplinary, collaborative approach, 2) to provide year-round meaningful research experiences for 12
EPCC students working with teams of faculty from EPCC, UTEP and NMSU 3) to maintain our excellent
track record of students presenting at national professional meetings, 4) to create a seamless pathway to the
baccalaureate degree through EPCC's Pathways for Student Success initiative, and 5) to strengthen the
biomedical science learning community and support networks established through EPCC's RISE program.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9985126
- **Project number:** 5R25GM123928-04
- **Recipient organization:** EL PASO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** MARIA E ALVAREZ
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $324,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9985126

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9985126, Rise to the Challenge Bridge (5R25GM123928-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9985126. Licensed CC0.

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