Delaware State University’s graduate biological sciences program has been awarded a five-year, $1.85 million research education RISE grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (which is under the National Institutes of Health).
The grant – designed to support a graduate training program to increase diversity in biomedical science – was successfully obtained by co-principal investigators Dr. Melissa Harrington, professor of biological sciences, and Dr. Hwan Kim, assistant professor of biological sciences.
“RISE – Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement – annually provides stipend and tuition support for master’s and Ph.D. students in the Department of Biological Sciences throughout the five-year period,” said Dr. Harrington, who is also director of the Delaware Center for Neuroscience Research and the interim associate vice president of the Delaware Institute for Science and Technology.
According to the NIH, RISE is a developmental program that seeks to increase the number of students underrepresented in the biomedical sciences that complete Ph.D. degrees in these fields. The program provides grants to institutions with a commitment and history of developing students from populations underrepresented in biomedical sciences as defined by the National Science Foundation.