Dr. Susanne Haga of the Duke Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine (CAGPM) and Dr. Greg Wray of the Center for Genomic and Computation Biology (GCB) were awarded an NIH R25 for an undergraduate summer program for underrepresented minority students. The “Summer Scholars Program in Genome Sciences and Medicine” is supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Building off of more than a decade of coordinating a summer scholars program for undergraduates, this new program will partner with Dr. Daniel Williams of North Carolina Central University (NCCU). Duke and NCCU have partnered previously in recruiting undergraduate students for summer research projects in genome sciences and medicine.
“We’re thrilled to re-start our relationship with NCCU with this program,” Dr. Wray said. “We are excited to offer underrepresented minority students a great opportunity to spend the summer working on a research project in either genome sciences or medicine.”
In addition to the students’ work on their project, the 10-week program will include the opportunity to learn about different professions and career options; be exposed to a range of –omic technologies; analyze genomic data; and discuss ethical, legal and social issues related to genomic research and medicine.
“Genome sciences and medicine are highly multi-disciplinary fields of research and we aim to highlight how many different areas of science, technology, and mathematics need to come together to be successful in these fields,” Wray said. “It is very much a ‘team-sport’ and that culture of research may not be familiar to students.”