A Near Peer Mentoring Program (NPMP) was developed in which Medical Student Training Program (MSTP) students met weekly with small groups of high school students who were participating in an intensive summer biomedical research immersion program. The goal of the NPMP was to provide and engage the high school students with opportunities to express…

This study examined whether students who left biomedical fields of study during college did so primarily because they became disenchanted with those fields or because they felt attracted to alternative fields of study. We identified 1,193 students intending to pursue biomedical fields of study early in college, collected data about their beliefs…

Background: The high rates of attrition in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programmes causes concern over a future shortage of graduates entering STEM careers. Students' first year experiences critically affect their motivation and are therefore also critical components of students' academic success in terms of retention,…

Challenge-based teaching facilitates students' simultaneous development of content mastery and strategies for applying technical knowledge innovatively. The University of Texas at Austin Department of Biomedical Engineering has offered a challenge-based course on biotransport as an accelerated study-abroad learning experience in Cambridge,…

Broadening participation in STEM education programs and boosting the STEM workforce, specifically increasing interest in engineering, has been a growing focus of the U.S. education system (Lawrence & Mancus, 2012; Strimel, Grubbs, & Wells, 2017). The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects overall STEM employment to grow by 8.9% from 2014 to…

This study analyzed terminal degree and career choices of students who performed undergraduate research. In one analysis, the study compared terminal degree and career choices between a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) and traditional non-course-based undergraduate research experiences at one primarily undergraduate…

There is a critical need for more effective comprehensive programs to increase the number of underrepresented minority students pursuing scientific careers. Science education often is fragmented, delivered with single-focused approaches - traditional classroom lectures, or hands-on-activities, or conducting research. The current paper examines a…

Motivating students to pursue science careers is a top priority among many science educators. We add to the growing literature by examining the impact of a utility value intervention to enhance student's perceptions that biomedical science affords important utility work values. Using an expectancy-value perspective, we identified and tested 2…

Immunology is increasingly becoming a core biomedical discipline in recent times. Students' interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs is essential for better academic performances and outcomes in a University of Science Technology. To this end, we assessed the factors that influence students' interest in immunology…

Evidence shows that biomedical knowledge is more effectively taught within the medical curriculum by teaching in context, to facilitate learning transfer. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of combining high-technology simulation and physiology teaching on medical student learning and experience. First-year medical…

As literature indicates, historic racism and implicit bias throughout academia have been profound metrics leading to a lack of diversity, as related to people from underrepresented groups according to race and ethnicity, among biomedical sciences graduate students in U.S. universities. Recognizing such challenges, a team of biomedical scientists…

Interdisciplinary research networks are increasing, with professionals encouraged to undertake research across disciplines to increase innovation, creativity and knowledge. More recently, this interdisciplinary focus is being mirrored by the establishment of interdisciplinary doctoral research networks. But do these networks work? And if so, how…

The programs Minority Access in Research Careers (MARC) and Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) are funded by the National Institutes of Health to increase the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds earning degrees in the biomedical sciences. This article estimates the impact of participation in MARC and RISE on…

Boston University's (BU) CityLab program was created in 1991 as a partnership between faculty members of BU's School of Medicine and School of Education in response to the first call for proposals under the Science Education Partnership Awards initiative of the National Institutes of Health. CityLab's founders recognized the need for CityLab, a…

Reports such as Bio2010 emphasize the importance of integrating mathematical modelling skills into undergraduate biology and life science programmes, to ensure students have the skills and knowledge needed for biological research in the twenty-first century. One way to do this is by developing a dedicated mathematics subject to teach modelling and…