INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 11 Program Schedule 02/17/2024 10:45 am - 12:00 pm Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60) Poster Session 11: Cultural Neuropsychology \| Education/Training \| Professional Practice Issues Final Abstract #16 Expanding the Pipeline to Graduate Research in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Program: An Evaluation of the Inaugural Experience Hailey Ames, Framingham Heart Study, Boston, United States Adam Ciarleglio, George Washington University, Washington D.C., United States Maureen O'Connor, Boston University, Boston, United States Rhoda Au, Boston University, Boston, United States Sherral Devine, Boston University, Boston, United States Hugo Aparicio, Boston University, Boston, United States Category: Inclusion and Diversity/Multiculturalism Keyword 1: minority issues Keyword 2: diversity Keyword 3: inclusion Objective: The number of racially and ethnically diverse older Americans is expected to grow significantly over the next 20 years, resulting in higher rates of dementia. There is, however, a paucity of people from these populations in the dementia research workforce. The Expanding the Pipeline to Graduate Research in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Program (EPGRAD) is a NIA-funded R25 collaboration between George Washington University (GW) and Boston University (BU) that aims to provide structured, tailored research training for 10-14 undergraduates from underrepresented groups (UGs) annually to expand interest in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) research, develop skills to increase competitiveness for graduate study, and provide mentors to help navigate the path from undergraduate to graduate study. Here we report results from the evaluation of the inaugural program, which can help guide others looking to build similar programs. Participants and Methods: Ten undergraduate Medicine, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (MSTEM) scholars participated in the program from May-July 2023. Half identified as Black/African American and half identified as East Asian, Hispanic/Latino or Other. Sixty percent identified as female and 40% as male. Scholars were rising seniors (60%), juniors (30%) and sophomores (10%). Seven universities were represented across Washington D.C., Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and New York. The first four weeks of the program occurred at GW, with 40 hours/week of scheduled activities including coursework in data science, epidemiology, and ethical research. The second four weeks were at BU, with 15-25 hours/week of scheduled activity with the remainder unscheduled for independent work on a pre-identified group project examining the relationship between happiness and dementia risk using Framingham Study data. The data analysis was completed in advance by BU faculty. Scholar education and training focused on learning study design, understanding data output, and developing professional presentation skills. The scholars presented results in an end-of-program symposium. Results: All scholars reported being "likely" to “extremely likely" to recommend the program to peers. Scholars described difficulty building long-lasting mentoring relationships due to the brevity of the 8-week program. All students felt their mentored research project was either "useful" or "very useful." Students were disappointed that they could not independently collect and analyze data. Some scholars expressed gratitude that the funding allowed the program to be fully paid for and included a stipend, which was necessary to facilitate their participation. Lastly, nearly every student commented on the value of the networking opportunities provided. Conclusions: We were able to successfully recruit and engage 10 MSTEM undergraduates from underrepresented groups, demonstrating program feasibility. Students valued the mentorship, networking opportunities and stipend and would recommend the program to others. Limitations were related to the brevity of the program, presenting a barrier to creating long term mentoring relationships and the type of work that could realistically be completed (independent data collection and analysis in epidemiological research is not possible). Lessons learned included the need to set program expectations early for what can be accomplished in 8 weeks and, importantly, that undergraduates want to participate in programs that expose them to AD/ADRD research.

Poster

02/17/2024
10:45 am - 12:00 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 11: Cultural Neuropsychology | Education/Training | Professional Practice Issues

Final Abstract #16

Expanding the Pipeline to Graduate Research in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Program: An Evaluation of the Inaugural Experience

Hailey Ames, Framingham Heart Study, Boston, United States
Adam Ciarleglio, George Washington University, Washington D.C., United States
Maureen O'Connor, Boston University, Boston, United States
Rhoda Au, Boston University, Boston, United States
Sherral Devine, Boston University, Boston, United States
Hugo Aparicio, Boston University, Boston, United States

Category: Inclusion and Diversity/Multiculturalism

Keyword 1: minority issues
Keyword 2: diversity
Keyword 3: inclusion

Objective:

The number of racially and ethnically diverse older Americans is expected to grow significantly over the next 20 years, resulting in higher rates of dementia. There is, however, a paucity of people from these populations in the dementia research workforce. The Expanding the Pipeline to Graduate Research in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Program (EPGRAD) is a NIA-funded R25 collaboration between George Washington University (GW) and Boston University (BU) that aims to provide structured, tailored research training for 10-14 undergraduates from underrepresented groups (UGs) annually to expand interest in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) research, develop skills to increase competitiveness for graduate study, and provide mentors to help navigate the path from undergraduate to graduate study. Here we report results from the evaluation of the inaugural program, which can help guide others looking to build similar programs.

Participants and Methods:

Ten undergraduate Medicine, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (MSTEM) scholars participated in the program from May-July 2023. Half identified as Black/African American and half identified as East Asian, Hispanic/Latino or Other. Sixty percent identified as female and 40% as male. Scholars were rising seniors (60%), juniors (30%) and sophomores (10%). Seven universities were represented across Washington D.C., Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, and New York.

The first four weeks of the program occurred at GW, with 40 hours/week of scheduled activities including coursework in data science, epidemiology, and ethical research. The second four weeks were at BU, with 15-25 hours/week of scheduled activity with the remainder unscheduled for independent work on a pre-identified group project examining the relationship between happiness and dementia risk using Framingham Study data. The data analysis was completed in advance by BU faculty. Scholar education and training focused on learning study design, understanding data output, and developing professional presentation skills. The scholars presented results in an end-of-program symposium.

Results:

All scholars reported being "likely" to “extremely likely" to recommend the program to peers. Scholars described difficulty building long-lasting mentoring relationships due to the brevity of the 8-week program. All students felt their mentored research project was either "useful" or "very useful." Students were disappointed that they could not independently collect and analyze data. Some scholars expressed gratitude that the funding allowed the program to be fully paid for and included a stipend, which was necessary to facilitate their participation. Lastly, nearly every student commented on the value of the networking opportunities provided.

Conclusions:

We were able to successfully recruit and engage 10 MSTEM undergraduates from underrepresented groups, demonstrating program feasibility. Students valued the mentorship, networking opportunities and stipend and would recommend the program to others. Limitations were related to the brevity of the program, presenting a barrier to creating long term mentoring relationships and the type of work that could realistically be completed (independent data collection and analysis in epidemiological research is not possible). Lessons learned included the need to set program expectations early for what can be accomplished in 8 weeks and, importantly, that undergraduates want to participate in programs that expose them to AD/ADRD research.