Aiming to increase the number of economically disadvantaged and minority students who enter the biosciences, the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences has two outreach programs that partner with Miami Dade College (MDC).

In June the Howard Hughes Medical Institute awarded a $1.9 million grant to UM to enhance its Undergraduate Science Education Program, which supports new classes, programs, and faculty development and provides scholarships for MDC students conducting research with University faculty to transfer to UM.

The Bridge to the Future Program, funded by a three-year, $683,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, enables MDC freshmen and sophomores to come to the University for enrichment classes and research labs. If they complete the program, they transfer to UM in their junior year and receive a Hughes scholarship. The program also pays students to work in labs and supports their participation at scientific conferences.

“You have this pool of community college students who are first-generation college kids, and there’s a tremendous amount of talent there,” says Michael Gaines, professor of biology and assistant provost of undergraduate research and community outreach.

“I feel very confident I will succeed as a Ph.D. student because of my experiences with the program,” adds Luis Duarte, B.S. ’05, a former Bridge to the Future student who is now pursuing graduate studies in cellular and molecular biology at Columbia University.