United States

&quot;The BioFIRE Living and Learning Program was created to support academic and social integration of incoming freshmen in the biological and chemical sciences. BioFIRE employs a combination of evidence-based interventions, including student learning communities, close interaction with faculty, intensive advising, and early research experience. Students live in on the same floor of a residence hall with integrated academic support, participate in community building activities, enroll together in introductory science courses, and are immersed in authentic, faculty-driven, coursed-based research during their first three semesters. BioFIRE students have higher persistence in STEM compared to students with similar entry credentials who are not in a living-learning community. We used the PITS (Persistence in the Sciences, Hanauer et al., 2016) assessment to measure several psychological constructs correlated with persistence in science, including science self-efficacy, science identity, and science community values. Analysis of data from 100 students in two BioFIRE cohorts (N=100) shows that science self-efficacy and science identity remain unchanged over three semesters participation in research, while science community values decline slightly over the same period. This is consistent with previous studies showing research participation can buffer students against declines in their intent to persist in STEM that often occur early in a student’s academic program.


Hanauer, D.I., Graham, M.J., Hatfull, G.F. (2016). A Measure of College Student Persistence in the Sciences (PITS). CBE Life Sci Educ 15:ar54, 1-10.
Hernandez, P.R., Hopkins, P.D., Masters, K, Halland, L., Mei, B.M., Richards-Babb, M., Quedado, K. Shook, N.J. (2018). Student integration into STEM careers and culture: A longitudinal examination of summer faculty mentors and project ownership. CBE Life Sci Educ 17:ar50, 1-14.

12th Conference on Understanding Interventions 2020

Impact of a STEM-focused living and learning community and early research experience on science self-efficacy, identity, and community values

persistence in stem

living-learning community

science identity

science self-efficacy

UI is excited to announce the rescheduled 12th Annual Conference on Understanding Interventions December 10 & 12, 2020! As you may recall, the original conference scheduled back in March 2020 had to be cancelled due the worsening global conditions, and further declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned for details regarding the virtual conference.

On December 10, 2020 from 12:00-5:00pm (EST), and December 12, 2020 from 11:00am-5:00pm (EST), UI will host the Virtual 12th Annual Understanding Interventions Conference powered by Underline. Attendees will experience plenaries, workshops, symposia, and poster presentations on hypothesis-based research on interventions and initiatives that broaden participation in STEM careers. The conference will continue to facilitate the dialogue among education, behavioral, and social science researchers, evaluators, and faculty in STEM fields who participate in intervention programs. Graduate students in these fields are strongly encouraged to attend. Workshops, sessions, and posters will communicate effective strategies from successful STEM intervention programs, present results from empirical research studies, and synthesize the translation of research findings into practice on STEM learning, undergraduate research, graduate education, and student retention.

12th Annual Understanding Interventions Conference continues to facilitate the dialogue among education, behavioral, and social science researchers, evaluators, and faculty in STEM fields who participate in intervention programs. Workshops, sessions, and posters communicate effective strategies from successful STEM intervention programs, present results from empirical research studies, and synthesize the translation of research findings into practice on STEM learning, undergraduate research, graduate education, and student retention.

"The BioFIRE Living and Learning Program was created to support academic and social integration of incoming freshmen in the biological and chemical sciences. BioFIRE employs a combination of evidence-based interventions, including student learning communities, close interaction with faculty, intensive advising, and early research experience. Students live in on the same floor of a residence hall with integrated academic support, participate in community building activities, enroll together in introductory science courses, and are immersed in authentic, faculty-driven, coursed-based research during their first three semesters. BioFIRE students have higher persistence in STEM compared to students with similar entry credentials who are not in a living-learning community. We used the PITS (Persistence in the Sciences, Hanauer et al., 2016) assessment to measure several psychological constructs correlated with persistence in science, including science self-efficacy, science identity, and science community values. Analysis of data from 100 students in two BioFIRE cohorts (N=100) shows that science self-efficacy and science identity remain unchanged over three semesters participation in research, while science community values decline slightly over the same period. This is consistent with previous studies showing research participation can buffer students against declines in their intent to persist in STEM that often occur early in a student’s academic program.


Hanauer, D.I., Graham, M.J., Hatfull, G.F. (2016). A Measure of College Student Persistence in the Sciences (PITS). CBE Life Sci Educ 15:ar54, 1-10.
Hernandez, P.R., Hopkins, P.D., Masters, K, Halland, L., Mei, B.M., Richards-Babb, M., Quedado, K. Shook, N.J. (2018). Student integration into STEM careers and culture: A longitudinal examination of summer faculty mentors and project ownership. CBE Life Sci Educ 17:ar50, 1-14.

poster

Lamkn: Teaching STEM concepts using the forgotten technologies embodied in recyclables

Cameron: Decoding the Signals of Mentor-Mentee Interaction: Seeking Understanding through

Matsui: Think Differently, Think "Program 2.0": Disrupt, not Replicate to Diversify STEM

Estrada: Cultivating Kindness and Community in STEM

Training Programming Impact on Career Intent and Related Social Cognitive Constructs

Training programs throughout the United States are recognizing the rich contributions resulting from prioritizing diversity in research environments. The purpose of this study was to identify program admission related variables that are not associated with first semester PhD GPA of racially underrepresented (UR) minority trainees. A sample of 37 trainees within the NIGMS-funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) was examined. Descriptive statistics and correlations were used to examine potential indicator variables such as GPA, GRE scores, undergraduate training, and to examine academic performance during the first semester of a doctoral program in biomedical sciences. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare UR PhD trainee performance by demographic variable (i.e. HBCUs vs. PWIs). We found weak associations between GRE scores and undergraduate GPA in estimating UR trainee GPA during the first semester of a doctoral program in biomedical sciences. UR trainees from HBCU undergraduate institutions had lower first semester PhD GPAs and GRE scores than UR trainees from PWIs. Yet, the student groups performed equally in long term outcomes. Therefore, this study supported the Admission Committee decision to no longer use GRE scores to make admission decisions.

Eliminating Admission Criteria that Ineffectively Reflect UR Trainees First Semester PhD GPA in an IMSD Intervention

Through our National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN), we implement and disseminate innovative, evidence-based best practices to improve mentoring relationships at institutions across the country. We connect highly knowledgeable and skilled mentors with motivated and diverse mentees, ranging from undergraduate students to early-career faculty, and facilitate long-term, culturally responsive interactions between them. We are committed to establishing a culture in which historically underrepresented mentees successfully progress in their careers and contribute to the biomedical research enterprise. With over 5,000 mentors and 8,600 mentees (and growing) participating on the platform, MyNRMN (online platform) enables mentees and mentors to connect professionally, support mentoring relationships and build their professional networks.

NRMN-Resource Center: A National Resource for Mentorship, Networking and Professional Development

Access to national funding is generally required for career advancement and promotion and/or tenure and was identified as a barrier for junior faculty members (Flores & Sumter, 2011). Several studies have documented that both the number of applications received from and the number of awards to scientists from underrepresented groups is significantly lower than the number of applications from and awards to non-minority scientists (Ginther et al, 2011, Ginther et al, 2018, Hoppe et al, 2019). The Minorities Affairs Committee (MAC) of the American Society for Cell Biology has a long history of providing career development opportunities for minority cell biologists. In 2013, a team of MAC members applied to the NSF for support for the Faculty Research and Education Development (FRED) Program, an intervention to promote grant funding success of minority senior postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty members and junior faculty members at minority-serving institutions.
This Program matched senior postdoctoral fellows or junior faculty members with faculty mentors who are at research-intensive institutions with a substantial track record of grant support. The main goal of this program was to enhance the grant funding capabilities of the junior faculty by establishing a year-long mentoring relationship focused on the preparation of a research or educational grant proposal to be submitted to a funding agency such as the NSF or the NIH.
The year-long FRED Program activities began with a three-day summer workshop in which the mentees learn about NIH and NSF funding opportunities and hear from near peers and MAC members about the tenure process and collaboration establishment. A major component of the workshop was the one-on-one mentee-mentor meeting time to work on the specific aims or summary section of the proposal. Each of the mentees was required to submit a proposal for the mock review panel/study section held during the ASCB annual meeting in December. The mentees and mentors served as reviewers during this mock session. Also, each pair of mentee-mentor engaged in reciprocal visits to each other’s institutions. This was critical for the mentors from research-intensive institutions to appreciate the research environment of the faculty at MSIs and more teaching-intensive institutions. 
The FRED Program has had 6 cohorts of mentee and mentor pairs. The junior faculty member/senior postdoctoral fellow mentees have been a diverse group of individuals – 42% were Hispanic/Latinx, and 20% were African-American. Over 60% were women. The 45 mentees in cohorts 1 to 5 reported promotions, publications, collaborations, and other significant events that came about in part because of their involvement in the Program. Of the 43 grants that were submitted by FRED mentees from 2014-2019, 28 were awarded (an overall 65% success rate). The majority of the applications were submitted to the NIH (56%) and NSF (23%) with the remainder of proposal submissions spread over several federal and other agencies. In addition, 42% (8/19) of the funded mentees received more than one grant award.
Thus, the FRED Program model has been an effective approach for junior faculty to compete successfully for grants from NIH, NSF, and other federal agencies, as well as from private-sector funding entities. The FRED Program model can be readily adopted and adapted by other professional societies and by colleges and universities who are committed to the success of their junior faculty members. This work was supported by NSF Award 1340395 and conducted under Georgia Gwinnett College IRB protocol 17196.

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