Getting ahead in the lab


  • June 26, 2014
  • /   Reggie Dogan
  • /   education

A nearly $1 million grant will boost research for University of West Florida faculty and help students pursue post-graduate degrees.

The Maximizing Access to Research Career Programs through Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research grant, or MARC U-STAR, will go to support underrepresented undergraduate students seeking doctorate or medical/doctorate degrees in biomedical and behavioral sciences.

The $930,000 grant will allow students to spent more time doing research and preparing them for high-caliber graduate programs.

The grant program also supports efforts to strengthen the science course curricula and teaching skills of faculty and biomedical research training at colleges and universities with a high enrollment of students from underrepresented groups.

UWF professors Karen Molek, director of Chemistry Scholars, and Michael Huggins, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, applied and secured the grant, which will be distributed over the next five years.

“Dr Huggins and I have the privilege of using this award to mentor students and help them achieve greater success than they ever dreamed,” Molek said in a press release. “Research scientists capable of solving health concerns of the 21st century will require collaborative research from a diverse workforce.”

The grant will be used to pay tuition and a portion of housing expenses for UWF students participating in the MARC Scholars Programs. It also will pay summer stipends for students to conduct research on and off campus during the summer semester.

A portion of the grant will fund small research stipends for 17 UWF professors from biology, chemistry and physics departments who will mentor MARC Scholars in the research lab.

The grant will enhance the university’s efforts to expand the UWF Chemistry Scholars program into other STEM departments across campus and get more federal grants.

“(This) grant will allow UWF to increase the opportunities for students majoring in biology, chemistry and physics by providing them with experiences and training that will help them be outstanding scientists, researchers and physicians,” Huggins said. “The mentoring and research training provided to students will play a critical role in their professional development, helping to ensure they have the best chances of being successful.”

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