Department of Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Ethn Dis. 2020 Jan 16;30(1):55-64. doi: 10.18865/ed.30.1.55. eCollection 2020 Winter.
The Postbaccalaureate Research Education Programs (PREP) are designed to provide research training and educational opportunities for recent baccalaureate graduates from targeted groups defined by NIH who would benefit by academic enhancements between the completion of undergraduate studies and admission to a PhD program. These programs offer exposure to the biomedical science community in a way that helps post-undergraduate individuals visualize future careers as well-trained, enthusiastic leaders in biomedical research who represent and will promote diversity in science. Specifically, PREPs provide the preparation and skills required for entrance into, and successful completion of, a PhD program via in-depth exposure to a research setting, which helps to refine the post-undergraduate's research interests, assists in providing a realistic understanding of the end results one can expect from research, and offers a forum for discussion with lab peers and mentors about possible career paths. Beyond the lab, PREPs offer programmatic activities to develop analytical, writing, and oral presentation skills necessary for a competitive graduate school application and success in graduate school thereafter. Individual mentoring increases the post-undergraduate's confidence and familiarity with members of the research community, so that pursuit of a PhD becomes a realistic and less-intimidating path. Interventions and developmental activities are matched to the background preparation, research experience, and learning style of each post-undergraduate. As with all training programs, there is no perfect model and each program must fit in and adapt to their respective institutional environments and cultures. Thus, in this article, we provide perspectives and approaches developed by a long-standing program in existence almost since the beginning of the PREP program along with one PREP at an early stage of maturity, having just been through one renewal.
博士后研究教育计划 (PREP) 旨在为 NIH 定义的目标群体中的近期本科毕业生提供研究培训和教育机会，这些群体在完成本科学业和进入博士课程之前，通过学术加强可以受益。这些计划通过使博士后个人接触生物医学科学社区，为他们提供了未来作为训练有素、热情的生物医学研究领导者的职业规划，从而代表和促进科学多样性。具体而言，PREP 通过深入接触研究环境，为进入博士课程并成功完成博士课程提供所需的准备和技能，从而帮助博士后个人完善研究兴趣，帮助他们对自己可以从研究中获得的最终成果有一个现实的认识，并为与实验室同行和导师讨论可能的职业道路提供一个论坛。除了实验室，PREP 还提供计划活动，以培养竞争力研究生申请和研究生成功所需的分析、写作和口头表达技能。个人指导增加了博士后与研究社区成员的信心和熟悉程度，使攻读博士学位成为一条现实且不那么令人生畏的道路。干预措施和发展活动与每个博士后的背景准备、研究经验和学习风格相匹配。与所有培训计划一样，没有完美的模式，每个计划都必须适应各自的机构环境和文化。因此，在本文中，我们提供了一个长期存在的计划和一个处于成熟早期的 PREP 计划的观点和方法，该计划刚刚经历了一次更新。
