M-ASCEND: Advancing Science, Enhancing Diversity Program

M-ASCEND high school and undergraduate interns completed their internships on August 8th. Our undergraduate and high school interns came together to present at the summer undergrad poster expo at McNamara hall, and then gathered with friends, family, faculty, and staff at the Student Union for a lunch celebration where each intern was awarded a certificate of completion! Check out pictures below!

We're extremely proud of our Undergraduate interns, who assisted UMN faculty and labs with projects, including research on cancer health disparities across the state of Minnesota. Likewise our High school interns, who completed individualized research projects on how environmental factors impact DNA damage in the mouth using a wide range of social determinants of health.

In addition to lab work, interns attended public health lectures, networked with faculty and community members, toured UMN labs and community spaces, and supported each other in college readiness and professional development. Congratulations to our high school and undergraduate interns!
 

University of Minnesota M-ASCEND: Advancing Science, Enhancing Diversity is a theoretically guided, evidence-driven program designed to support the academic persistence of high school and undergraduate students underrepresented in science, and promote their developmental progress towards future careers in cancer research. M-ASCEND combines best practices with innovative approaches from education, mentorship, service learning, and parent education within an equity-oriented frame to engage, educate, and support students to achieve the knowledge, skills, science identity, and self-efficacy required to support academic persistence and long-term success within the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Diversifying the cancer research workforce is critical to addressing the pressing needs of increasingly diverse patient populations in Minnesota and across the United States.