STEM BUILD at UMBC is one of ten lead institutions funded by the National Institutes of Health as a Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) sites. The goal of this broad, trans-NIH strategy is to address the need to promote diversity in the biomedical research workforce.
Established through the Common Fund, the “Enhancing the Diversity of the NIH-Funded Workforce” program represents a collaborative initiative throughout the nation to establish the Diversity Program Consortium. As explained in the NIH website, this consortium, in partnership with the NIH, will “develop, implement, and evaluate innovative approaches to research training and mentoring, with the goal of engaging individuals from diverse backgrounds and helping them prepare for and succeed in biomedical research careers.”
From Alaska to Maryland and Michigan to Texas, its many collaborative partnerships with institutions of higher education seek to transform “the biomedical research workforce through institution-wide and eventually nationwide implementation of successful training and mentoring strategies. The consortium’s long-term goal is to “enhance the NIH mission through a more diverse and robust workforce, attracting talented individuals from all population sectors.”
Quoted text from http://commonfund.nih.gov/diversity/index (March 13, 2015).
Three NIH Diversity Consortium Initiatives:
- Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD)
- National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN)
- Coordination and Evaluation Center (CEC)