To expand the base of students in the medical field, the Research Education Program to Increase Diversity in Health Researchers, or REPID, is working with minority students who are passionate about medicine.
With a focus on diversity, REPID’s main goal is to help students who come from different backgrounds, and connect them with helpful research tools.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health-National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NIH-NHLBI), the program grants each student a scholarship that provides research training sessions and other changes to gain experience.
Director of REPID and Associate Professor of Medicine Doctor Elahe Crockett introduced the program that would give minority or under-represented students a chance to contribute to the medical field.
“In general, they have programs where they encounter diversity of students in the College of Human Medicine,” Crockett said. “It is to train minorities to get into medical school and become successful.”
As a member of an ethnic minority herself, Crockett said she can relate.
“I have been challenged, I really have a passion for it, but I had a hard time finding a lab that will let me work based on my background,” Crockett said. “Students get a lot of confidence from this program and it gives them an opportunity to flourish.”
Working in a laboratory environment with established researchers is another component of the program, intended to give students confidence to adapt. Students learn hands-on with different areas of study and learn to read and interpret scientific research as well.
“One of the reasons I was interested in this program was to get a Ph.D. to prepare me for academic research,” said REPID scholar and MSU alum Hasib Yousufzai. “I think it’s great to expose all students of all backgrounds to increase academics through the program,” he said.
Through mentoring programs to guide students, the REPID program tries to invest time in every scholar.
“In short, it has been a great experience,” said neuroscience junior and REPID scholar Holly Semma. “I’m a first-generation college student, and it helped guide me along this pathway. Being encouraging and supporting me is wonderful.”
