Research Mentor News, November 2018

Call for Abstracts: BUILD Annual Research Symposium

CSULB BUILD is hosting its fourth and final Annual Research Symposium to showcase the diversity and breadth of health-related research conducted at CSULB. The symposium, which will have the theme of “Community: Turning our wealth of diverse perspectives into improved health," will provide a unique opportunity for individuals to collaborate, share research findings, and to promote health equity and scientific leadership with an emphasis on diversity. CSULB and BUILD faculty and research partners are encouraged to present their research in the form of an oral presentation and/or a health-related research demonstration. In addition, encourage your BUILD mentees to submit abstracts for poster presentations about health disparities, behavioral and/or biomedical, or social, cultural, and environmental effects on health-related research, as well. Learn more here.

DHS Summer Research Team Program

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions is now accepting applications. The purpose of this program is to increase and enhance the scientific leadership at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), such as California State University Long Beach, in research areas that support the mission and goals of DHS.

This program provides faculty and student research teams with the opportunity to conduct research at the university-based DHS Centers of Excellence (DHS Centers). The SRT Program and DHS Centers are sponsored by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate Office of University Programs. Ten-week research experiences are offered at university-based DHS Centers. Benefits include:

  • Faculty receive a $1,200 weekly stipend and are encouraged to apply for up to $50,000 in follow-up funding at the end of their appointment.
  • Graduate Students receive a $700 weekly stipend.
  • Undergraduate Students receive a $600 weekly stipend.

All participants may be eligible to receive housing and travel allowances.

Areas of Research eligible for this program include engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological and life sciences, environmental science, emergency and incident management, social sciences, and more. Additional information regarding DHS Areas of Research may be found on the program website.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, and previous program participants may apply. Please pass this information on to your mentee(s).

Application & More Information:

November Colloquium Reminder

The second BUILD Colloquium for the Fall is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 9, from 9 to 9:50 am and will feature Leonardo Leon, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar in the lab of Asa Gustafsson, Ph.D., School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science at University of California San Diego.  Dr. Leon is an alumnus of the CSULB Biochemistry B.S. and RISE program. The following Q&A reception will be for CNSM BUILD trainees. If your mentee(s) is from CNSM, please note that attendance for this event is mandatory and they will be unavailable to work in your lab during this time.

Student Representatives

The new cohort of student representatives has stepped up to the plate to represent their cohorts. These students meet with Enri’que Flores once a month to facilitate communication between CSULB BUILD administration and our BUILD trainees. Here is the list of this year’s representatives and which cohort they represent.

Associates:

  • Cynthia Moreno-Barriga (CLA)
  • Reyalyn Villegas (CNSM)

Scholars 1:

  • Elroi Kibret (COE)
  • Sydney Carpentier (CLA)
  • Alyssa Gimenez (CHHS)
  • Diego Velarde (CNSM)

Scholars 2:

  • Rhea Mehta (CLA)
  • Wilma Figueroa (CHHS)

Fellows

  • Rotation of Ryan Cabrera, Matthew Nguyen, Brian Novoa, and Bo Sortman (one rep required at meeting)

Scholars 3:

  • Rotation of Noel Chau, Rudolph Cheong, Marian de Orla-Barile, Adam Manoogian, Landon Watts, Kenya Alfaro, Alexandrea Jackson, or Jairo Maldonado (one rep required at meeting)

Travel Around the World through Food!

On Oct. 17, 2018, 35 BUILD mentors, faculty, staff and more enjoyed BUILDing their own tostadas from Rivera's tostadas. If you missed out on the fun—and even if you didn’t—you are invited to join us for the next Faculty Mixer next month.

December’s Faculty Mentor Mixer will celebrate the season with foods from around the world. The menu hasn’t been finalized yet, but you can look forward to Vietnamese, Greek, Mexican and Indian selections. Come join us on Dec. 11, 2018, starting at 11:30 am.

GMs of the Month – September & October

Starting in September, we began highlighting two of our Graduate Mentors (GMs) each month. GMs are an important part of the CSULB BUILD program, providing near-peer support to our trainees. The GMs for September were Luwissa Wong and Noor Osman. You can learn more about them here. The GMs for October were Danny Schultz and Angelica Garcia. You can learn more about them here. This month’s spotlighted GMs will be announced mid-month.

Recruiting for the 2019/2020 Cohort Has Begun!

Applications for next year’s BUILD, MARC and RISE programs are now open and the deadline to apply is March 1, 2019. We’ve already begun hosting information sessions. Two were held last month and one is scheduled for Nov. 7 from 11 am to noon in the BUILD Center, PH1-117. To be eligible for these NIH-funded programs, students must meet the following criteria:

  • Must be a US Citizen or legal permanent resident
  • From the College of COE, CHHS, CLA, or CNSM
  • Interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in health-related research
  • Years:
    • Freshman and sophomore (3 years remaining as of June 2019) can apply to UROP Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (All Colleges)
    • Rising juniors (2 years remaining as of June 2019) apply to the joint application of BUILD / MARC / RISE, no research experience needed. Application information can be found on the BUILD Scholars Program web page.
    • Rising seniors (1 year remaining as of June 2019) can apply to BUILD Fellows, need at least 1 semester of research experience completed by the end of Spring 2019. Students already in a BUILD Mentor’s research group will be given priority. Find a Mentor here. Application information can be found on the BUILD Fellows Program web page.

If you have a student who you think would be a good fit for one or more of these programs, please encourage them to apply.

BUILD Graduate Mentors Learn about the Validity of Their Work

A sense of belonging and growth mindset are two key components addressed by Graduate Mentors (GMs) in the CSULB BUILD (Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity) program. Numerous studies from researchers at Stanford, Washington State University, Columbia University, and others have shown that when students feel that they belong and believe that they can develop their abilities through hard work and dedication, they are likely to be more successful in all areas of their lives.

On Sept. 7, BUILD GMs attended a symposium titled, “Symposium on Inclusive Pedagogy and Growth Mindset,” that discussed the efficacy of these two concepts. Hosted by the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the intention of the symposium was to help attendees apply the new psychology of success and the principles of social-emotional learning to their teaching and advising.

Continue reading here.

Diversity Supplement to NIGMS Grants

If you are a principal investigator holding a current National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) grant you can apply for additional funds through NIH’s Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research program. This program is meant to increase the diversity of the health-related research workforce by supporting researchers’ recruitment of underrepresented students and postdoctoral fellows. You can learn more here.

Thank You for Selena’s Service

Thank you cake for Selena

Selena Nguyen-Rodriguez, Ph.D., has served in a variety of roles since CSULB BUILD began almost five years ago. She worked on the pre-BUILD grant process, assisted with the Research Development Core, acted as liaison to the University of Southern California, and was one of the Training Directors for the Associates program.

She was recently awarded a grant and therefore is stepping down to focus on her research. On Wednesday, Oct. 31—yes, Halloween—BUILD faculty and staff gathered to enjoy some Vietnamese food from Brodard Chateau, wish her good fortune, and thank her for her service. “I’m so grateful for BUILD,” Dr. Nguyen-Rodriguez said. She values all the connections she’s made during her tenure with BUILD.

Mentor Supply Funds for BUILD Year 5

Please contact Marie Reed for instructions on spending your “Mentor Supply Funds” for Year 5.

Please keep the following in mind:

  1. You will have until Feb. 28, 2019, to spend out 50% of your funds.  You will have until May 31, 2019, to spend out the remaining funds.  These funds cannot be carried over.
  2. You are required to complete the ATI/E&IT checklist and have it approved by the Purchasing Department PRIOR to the purchase of electronics and software. You can download a PDF of the form here. The completed form should be sent directly to Purchasing@csulb.edu for approval.
  3. Please refer to your mentor newsletters for announcements, updates, and purchasing guidelines.

CSULB BUILD in Pictures – October Fun

Facepainting at the BUILD Day of the Dead Celebration

CSULB BUILD’s Facebook and Instagram accounts are filled with pictures of our Associates, Scholars, and Fellows. Each month we’ll highlight a collection here.

  • Day of the Dead Celebration – On Friday, Oct. 26, BUILD trainees gathered to share in some October-themed fun. 60 people chowed down on tamales, churros, and other treats, and enjoyed face mask painting, pumpkin carving, and headband making.

Acknowledging BUILD in Your Presentations/Publications

Please remember to acknowledge the funding from National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers UL1GM118979, TL4GM118980, and RL5GM118978 on work supported by BUILD, including support from BUILD student trainees, mentor appreciation fund, BUILD research and equipment grants. For a sample acknowledgment statement, NIH resources and policy, please visit the “Acknowledging BUILD in Your Publications” page on our website. It can be found under Mentors > Current Mentors.

Be Prepared

If you'd like to know what is coming up in the BUILD Learning Community for your mentee, download the current syllabus. This will give you a heads up on what events your mentee is required to attend and therefore will not be available to work in your lab at that time. This page will be updated each semester with the new syllabi.

Communicating with BUILD

We invite your news about your BUILD Trainee and any questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions about BUILD. If you have any of these, in relation to being a BUILD Research Mentor, please contact us at BUILD.mentors@csulb.edu. If you have any concerns about your BUILD Trainee, please contact the Student Training Core Director at Jesse.Dillon@csulb.edu.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the December newsletter.