Newsroom – California State University, Northridge

Cal State Northridge MARC U-STAR Programs Receive $3 Million Dollar Grant

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Jun. 30th, 2010) ―

Cal State Northridge has been awarded a $3 million federal grant for a program that encourages underrepresented students to consider careers in biomedical research.

Northridge has received $554,174, the first installment of the five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for its MARC (Minority Access Research Careers) U*GRAD (Undergrad Science Training and Academic Research) programs.

The money will go to improve the student success in majors relating to the biomedical field including: biology, chemistry, mathematics, psychology, kinesiology and environmental science.

The program started in 1990 at Cal State Northridge with the support from the NIH. It offers students an opportunity to participate in on-campus, long-term research projects. They also receive mentoring, research support, graduate school preparation support and a stipend to travel to scientific conferences to present their research results.

“This award will not only prepare students who participate directly in the program, but will allow the College of Science and Mathematics to develop and test activities that will improve student success,” said biology professor MariaElena Zavala.

Since the program’s inception, Zavala said, all of the CSUN students participating in the program have presented the results of their research at regional, national and international scientific conferences. All MARC students who entered Ph.D. programs have also been awarded five-year fellowships to complete Ph.D. programs in their chosen fields.

MARC U-STAR awards provide support for undergraduate students who are underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences to improve their preparation for high-caliber graduate training at the Ph.D. level. The program also supports efforts to strengthen the science course curricula, pedagogical skills of faculty and biomedical research training at institutions with significant enrollments of students from underrepresented groups.

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