Haumana 'O Pasifika Homeostasis Program

About This Grant

This proposal seeks external funding for a recently launched internship program for undergraduate trainees who are passionate about improving metabolic health. Our program aims to help outstanding undergraduates achieve their goals of becoming the next generation of nurses, physician assistants, physicians, and scientists by providing research experience, clinical exposure, career development training, and community outreach opportunities over the course of a 10-week summer program. Our training offers exposure to the metabolic underpinnings of chronic kidney disease (CKD), diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart failure, cardiovascular disease and stroke. These comorbid conditions have increased in parallel with the epidemic proportions of diabetes and obesity, which are strong risk factors for these chronic health conditions. With overwhelming support from UofU administration, colleagues, and community leaders, we created and implemented the Utah Summer Undergraduate Mentored Metabolism Immersive Training (SUMMIT) Program, a 10-week summer research internship which provides: i) hands-on research experience (basic, clinical, or translational) with established scientists; ii) professional and career development; iii) clinical shadowing; iv) cultural mentoring; and v) community outreach. With NIH support, we aim to continue annual research experiences and educational training in metabolic disease (with an emphasis on diabetes, obesity, endocrinology, and metabolism) through the Utah SUMMIT Program. We will: 1) Execute a summer research internship centered on metabolic health for undergraduates that includes comprehensive and lifelong academic, career, and educational support through mentored research and the development of a strong, supportive cohort experience; 2) provide Summit Scholars outreach opportunities with Utahns at high risk for metabolic disease; and 3) Evaluate the effectiveness of the SUMMIT Program on increasing trainee trajectories toward STEM careers and the endocrine-related biomedical workforce.