Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Awards (IRACDA)

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Institutional Research and Academic Career
Development Awards (IRACDA)
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IRACDA Program Objectives
The objectives of this initiative are three-fold

• to enhance research-oriented teaching at Minority
  Serving Institutions (MSIs)
• to increase or enhance the research and other
  skills needed in developing scientists to conduct
  high quality research in an academic environment
• to promote linkages between research-intensive
  institutions and MSIs that can lead to further
  collaborations in research and teaching.
• to increase the number of well-qualified
  underrepresented minority students entering
  competitive careers in biomedical research.

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The IRACDA Rationale

• Underrepresented minorities constitute a small
  fraction of the postdoctoral fellows in the life
  sciences and an even smaller fraction of
  principal investigators of NIH research grants.
• Collaborations between research intensive
  institutions and minority serving institutions
  fostered by IRACDA grants have a unique
  opportunity to help address these problems.
• Requires an alternative paradigm for
  post-doctoral education.

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The IRACDA Experiment

• Hypothesis post-doctoral fellows who have a
  research-intensive experience and have an
  opportunity to engage in teaching activities will
  perform as well as traditional post-doctoral
  fellows.
• Undertake evaluation of IRACDA fellows.
• Measures of performance
• Success in publishing in peer-reviewed journals.
• Success in obtaining and remaining in
  research-related employment.
• Success in obtaining NIH research grant support.

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IRACDA Evaluation

• Study group consisted of 145 current and former
  IRACDA fellows.
• Comparison group consisted of 536 current and
  former T32 fellows at IRACDA institutions.
• Only considered fellows with more than 6 months
  but 60 months or less training.
• Only considered publications from within the time
  period above.
• Examined all employment outcomes

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The Study Population
IRACDA Gender
IRACDA Ethnicity
32
68
Comparison Gender
Comparison Ethnicity
47
53
Male
Female
Male
Female
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Summary of Publication Results
IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data IRACDA and T32 Fellows Demographic and Publication Data
Post-doctoral groups Gender Gender Ethnicity Ethnicity Tenure (mo) Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year Post-Doctoral Publications per post-doctoral year
Post-doctoral groups Gender Gender Ethnicity Ethnicity Tenure (mo) All Fellows All Fellows All Fellows Majority Majority Majority Minority Minority Minority
Post-doctoral groups M F W/As URM Tenure (mo) 1st Author Other Total 1st Author Other Total 1st Author Other Total
IRACDA Fellows 145 32 68 58 42 32.8 14.6 0.33 0.56 0.44 0.86 0.77 1.1 0.49 0.67 0.54 1.0 1.0 1.3 0.12 0.21 0.29 0.47 0.41 0.57
T32 Fellows 536 47 53 88 12 25.6 15.1 0.45 0.69 0.27 0.63 0.71 1.1 0.49 0.69 0.32 0.80 0.81 1.2 0.33 0.56 0.28 0.41 0.62 0.89
Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d. Notes all values are means s.d.
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Post-Doctoral Publishing is a Rare Event

• The frequency of post-doctoral publishing is
  described by a Poisson (exponential)
  distribution.
• For a Poisson distribution the population mean
  and standard deviation are equal.
• Most traditional parametric statistics cannot be
  used to test hypotheses (but can use chi squared
  analysis to test for similarity of distributions)
  .
• Non-parametric statistics are poorly developed
  for Poisson variables.

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The IRACDA Experiment

• Hypothesis post-doctoral fellows who have a
  research-intensive experience and have an
  opportunity to engage in teaching activities will
  perform as well as traditional post-doctoral
  fellows.
• Distributions of publishing frequency were
  indistinguishable for IRACDA and T32 fellows.
• Conclusion there cannot be a significant
  difference in the rates of publication.

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Post-IRACDA Employment

• Hypothesis post-doctoral fellows who have a
  research-intensive experience and have an
  opportunity to engage in teaching activities will
  be as successful in obtaining and remaining in
  research-related employment as traditional
  post-doctoral fellows.
• For IRACDA fellows, use data from IRACDA
  Programs.
• For T32 fellows, use data from The Career
  Achievements of National Research Service Award
  Postdoctoral Trainees and Fellows 19752004
  prepared for Office of Extramural Programs,
  Office of the Director, NIH by R. Mantovani,
  Ph.D., M. V. Look, Ph.D., and Emily Wuerker. May
  2006.

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Post-IRACDA Employment
T32 Employment 8 years after post-doc
IRACDA Employment (FIRST, SPIRE, PERT)
123
13
86
371
26
150
Other includes self-employed primary or
secondary school U.S., State, or local government
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Post-IRACDA Employment
40
22
IRACDA Employment (FIRST, SPIRE, PERT)
24
21
5
4
9
Other includes self-employed primary or
secondary school
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Post-IRACDA Grants
Mean Elapsed Number of Years Between Last Year of
T32 Support and First NIH Competing Award for
Selected NIH Grant Mechanisms
T32 Fellows Degree R01 R01 R01, R23, andR29 R01, R23, andR29 Early Career K Awards Early Career K Awards
T32 Fellows Degree Years Years Years
T32 Fellows Ph.D. 2,506 6.5 3,012 4.8 68 5.5
Mean years After FIRST
R01
All K Awards
All R Awards

• Career Development 9
• R01 or equivalent 3
• Other R 1

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Post-IRACDA Grants
Triscia Hendrickson
Former Fellow
Year
Position
Institution
Award
Haftel, V.
2003
Assistant Professor
Morehouse College, Dept. of Biology
NIH/NIGMS S06 and Dept of Ed Award)
Morris, A.
2003
Assistant Professor
Haverford College, Dept. of Biology
NIH K01
Hendrickson, T.
2004
Assistant Professor
Morehouse College, Dept. of Biology
NIH/NIGMS S06
Shipman, L.
2003
Assistant Professor
Morehouse College, Dept. of Chemistry
NIH/NIGMS S06 and NSF Development
Williams, D.
2004
Assistant Professor
N. Carolina Central Univ., Biology
NIH R15, SC2
Ciavatta, V
2005
Research Biologist
VA Hospital, Decatur, GA
VA MREP- Merit Review Entry Program
Stahl, E.
2003
Assistant Professor
Univ. of Mass-Dartmouth
2 NSF awards
Brosnan, S.
2007
Assistant Professor
Georgia State, Dept. of Psychology
NSF/SES
Department of Psychiatry, Emory University
New Invest. Award - Nat. Alliance for Res.
Neigh, G.
2007
Assistant Professor
on Schizophrenia Depression and AHA Career
Development Award
Andrea Morris
Sarah Brosnan
Valerie Haftel
Lance Shipman
Eli Stahl
Vince Ciavatta
Gretchen Neigh
Daniel Williams
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IRACDA - Promoting Diversity in a Problematic
TimeSuccess Rate Of Kirschstein-nrsa
Post-doctoral Fellowship (F32) Applications
Number of Applications/ Awards
Success Rate
Fiscal Year
TRENDS IN RESEARCH TRAINING AND FELLOWSHIPS NIH
NEDB Training_Fellowship.ppt
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IRACDA Contributes to Diversity at Emory
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The IRACDA Contributes to the Number of
Underrepresented Minority Faculty in the Life
Sciences
Alessandra Barrera, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of
Biology Georgia Gwinnett College
Andrea R. Morris, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of
Biology, Haverford College
Jackie B. Hoffman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
Department of Poultry Science North Carolina
State University
Francisco Cruz, Ph.D. Lecturer, Department of
Biology, Georgia State University
Dinitra White, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of
BiologyNorth Carolina AT State University
Daniel Williams, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
Department of BiologyNorth Carolina Central
University
Cassandra Delgado-Reyes, Ph.D. Instructor and
Graduate CoordinatorTexas Interdisciplinary Plan
(TIP) University of Texas at Austin
Checo Rorie, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of
Biology North Carolina AT State University
Antonio Baines, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
Department of BiologyNorth Carolina Central
University
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The IRACDA Contributes to Partner Minority
Serving Institutions

• IRACDA fellows inspire and guide undergraduates
  in courses that can lead to biomedical research
  careers.
• IRACDA fellows assist the Institutions to develop
  a stronger contemporary curriculum in the life
  sciences.
• IRACDA fellows allow the Institutions to expand
  their course offerings.
• IRACDA fellows provide energetic,
  research-oriented teachers that are closer to the
  ages of the Institutions students. Therefore,
  they can more easily act as role models.
• IRACDA fellows reinforce contemporary methods of
  instruction at the minority-serving institutions
• IRACDA fellows increase the exposure of students
  to research and opportunities in research
• IRACDA fellows enhance knowledge of contemporary
  topics in research and research methods at the
  minority-serving institution
• IRACDA creates links between faculty and students
  at minority-serving institutions and faculty and
  students at research intensive institutions.

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The IRACDA Contributes to Partner Minority
Serving Institutions
Some of the Courses Taught by FIRST Fellows at
the Atlanta University Center

• Animal Behavior (PSY 341/PSY 341L) - Morehouse
  College
• Behavioral Endocrinology (BIO 491) - Spelman
  College
• Biochemistry - Clark Atlanta University
• Bioethics - Morehouse College
• Bioinformatics Component of Genetics (BIO 312) -
  Clark Atlanta University
• Biology and Ethics of HIV (BIO 491D) - Spelman
• Biology of Women (BIO 401) - Spelman College
• Biological Research l ll (BIO 381/BIO 382) -
  Morehouse College
• Cellular and Molecular Biology (BIO 471) -
  Spelman
• General Biology (BIO 111) - Clark Atlanta
• Biology 111 and Biology 112 - Clark Atlanta
• General Biology (BIO 111) - Spelman College
• General Chemistry (CHEM 111) - Spelman College
• Genetics (BIO 312) Clark Atlanta University
• Learning and Memory (PSY 372/PSY 372L) -
  Morehouse College
• Physiology of Human Nutrition (BIO 491E) -
  Spelman College
• Plant Physiology Laboratory (BIO 471) - Clark
  Atlanta University

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The IRACDA Contributes to Partner Minority
Serving Institutions
Some of the Courses Taught by SPIRE Fellows

• Cellular Biology (with lab) Fayetteville State
  University
• Developmental Biology North Carolina Central
  University
• Developmental Neurobiology Fayetteville State
  University
• Genetics (with lab) Shaw University
• Independent Research course Shaw University
• Introduction to Molecular Biology Winston Salem
  State University
• Molecular Cell Biology (with lab) Shaw
  University
• Ecology (with lab) North Carolina Central
  University
• Environmental Influences on Human Disease North
  Carolina AT State University
• Senior Seminar (team taught) Shaw University
• Microbial Pathogenesis UNC Pembroke
  (Videoteleconferenced)
• Special Problems - Chromosome Attachment
  Fayetteville State University
• Bioinformatics Shaw University
• Human Genetic Disease North Carolina Central
  University
• Molecular Basis of Disease North Carolina
  Central University
• Protein Biology and Disease Fayetteville State
  University
• Science, Technology, Ethics Johnson C. Smith
  University
• Genomics/Bioinformatics North Carolina AT State
  University
• Immunology University of North Carolina at
  Pembroke

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The IRACDA Contributes to Faculty Partner
Minority Serving Institutions
Valerie K. Haftel, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
Department of BiologyMorehouse College
Triscia W. Hendrickson, Ph.D. Assistant
Professor Department of BiologyMorehouse College

Lance Shipman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Departmen
t of ChemistryMorehouse College, Atlanta,
Georgia
Shani H. Peterson, Ph.D. Assistant
Professor Department of PsychologySpelman
College
Sinead Younge, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Departmen
t of PsychologyMorehouse College
Kai M. McCormack, Ph.D. Assistant
Professor Department of PsychologySpelman
College
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The IRACDA Program Accomplishments

• contributes to increasing or enhancing the
  research and other skills developing scientists
  need to conduct high quality research in an
  academic environment.
• fellows publish at a rate indistinguishable from
  T32 fellows.
• fellows are competitive for academic positions.
• alumni are competitive for grants to develop
  their careers.
• increases the number of well-qualified
  underrepresented minorities entering competitive
  careers in biomedical research.
• contributes substantially to the number of
  minority post-doctoral fellows at research
  intensive universities.
• promotes linkage between research-intensive
  institutions and MSIs that can lead to further
  collaborations in research and teaching.
• enhance research-oriented teaching at partner
  MSIs.
• undergraduates at partner MSIs give IRACDA
  fellows high marks for teaching.
• teaching mentors give the IRACDA Program and
  fellows high marks.
• provide new faculty to at partner MSIs.
• provide support for infrastructure improvements
  at partner MSIs.

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IRACDA Program