Evaluation of an Introductory Research Program for Minority Students in an Interdisciplinary Tissue Engineering Lab

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has become a priority in the United States, both in educating the populace and producing a national workforce in this area. Our National Science Foundation: Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Research Experience and Mentoring (REM) program focused on introducing minority students in the early years of their science or engineering undergraduate degrees to STEM research in biomaterials and tissue engineering. A pre- and post-survey helped discern how the REM program influenced students' feelings of preparedness for future research programs and assessed skills gained through the program. A significant (p = 0.0172) increase was seen in students' reports of feeling prepared for future research experiences after completing this introductory program. Overall, students' reported an improvement in research preparedness and research skills assessment after participating in the REM program.