HBCU Professor Awarded $2.3M NIH Grant To Support Students From Historically Marginalized Communities

The grant will support undergraduate students majoring in biology, chemistry, forensic science, mathematics, and computer science through the soon-to-be-established Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE) program.

Created by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the program will replace the previous FSU-RISE program, where Dr. Raynor advanced over 300 students as the program director for nearly 15 years.

“FSU has been hard at work ensuring that students have access to everything they need to be successful. From reducing tuition to rethinking our organizational structure to better serve students, we believe in keeping our students’ best interest at the heart of what we do. This grant helps us take another step in the direction of providing unfettered access to fields of study that, historically, have been inaccessible to students from underrepresented communities. We are excited about the promise U-RISE holds for FSU’s students.”

U-RISE will be a stepping stone for marginalized communities venturing into biomedical, research-focused Ph.D. programs once their academic studies at the university are complete. Participants will have access to mentoring, research, training, and professional development beginning as early as their senior year, according to a press release. In addition, participants will receive a monthly stipend, tuition, health insurance, and assistance for travel to scientific conferences.

Interested students for the fall 2022 cohort can begin applying to the U-RISE program now.

For those with further inquiries, contact Dr. Raynor at jraynor@uncfsu.edu.