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NIALL HOWLETT Professor Cell and Molecular Biology

The University of Rhode Island (URI) is the recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) training grant to encourage underrepresented students to pursue Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. programs post graduation. MARC U*STAR, short for Maximizing Access to Research Careers – Undergraduate Student Training for Academic Research, is one of a series of funded efforts by the NIH to increase workforce diversity in biomedical fields by supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds. The NIH definition of eligibility for this grant includes students who are racial or ethnic minorities, federal Pell Grant eligible, disabled, or first generation college students, among other factors. Niall Howlett, a professor in the College of the

Environment and Life Sciences, hopes to make more URI students aware of their potential eligibility for these funds. Howlett and colleagues URI biological sciences Associate Professor Bryan Dewsbury and URI community equity diversity Associate Vice President Michelle Fontes identified two key goals for URI’s MARC program: Create an environment where students can learn the skills they need to become confident scientists and to create a community of scholars who feel a sense of belonging in the field of biomedical sciences. Senior pharmaceutical sciences major Nana Oblie says the support MARC offered her has extended beyond academics. “The most important thing about MARC that I love is the community,” Oblie says. “Once you join, you become part of the family. We share our struggles, our success stories, our time, our smiles, and our inspirational stories. We do this so we

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