Stellar Student Research:
01 | Minority Students Prepare for Biomedical Careers
The Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) training program offers extraordinary opportunities for minority students seeking careers in biomedical research. Working with leading faculty scientists, MARC scholars attend weekly seminars where they read scientific papers, learn how to develop research presentations and hear from guest speakers. They also attend and deliver presentations at local and national professional meetings.
One MARC scholar is observing the relationship between caffeine and adenosine on the dopaminergic system in the brain and its related potential benefits to Parkinson’s disease. Another is working with CSUF psychologist Nancy Segal on her studies of twins.
Originally intended solely for members of minority groups, the program is now open as well to students who are the first in their family to attend a four-year university or who come from a high school that does not send many students to college. Students selected for the program must carry a minimum 3.2 grade point average and be interested in research as a career.
The program provides each student with an annual stipend of about $10,000, as well as funding for travel, supplies and materials. MARC also pays participants’ school fees and provides a preparation course for the Graduate Record Exams.
Established in 1995, the program is funded by the National Institutes of Health. About 25 students have completed the two-year program and gone on to graduate and doctoral programs at UC Irvine, UC San Diego and the University of Southern California.
