Improving the transfection rate in ventricular heart cells. Examining the effect of educational experience on neuro-psychological test performance in non-demented Washington Heights elders. And observing the synthesis of photo-initiating radicals that can link onto polymer chains. These are just three of the research topics investigated by the 22 undergraduate student researchers who participated in the Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences' (GSAS) 1999 Summer Research Program for Students from Historically Underrepresented Groups (SRP).

Columbia University is a member of the Leadership Alliance, a consortium of 27 colleges and universities devoted to increasing the presence of traditionally underrepresented scholars in graduate degree programs and research careers. The Alliance co-sponsored the program through its Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP).

This year, Columbia's summer 1999 program included undergraduate students from Columbia College, Barnard and 10 additional colleges from around the country. It is not only the largest SRP in Columbia's 10-year history, but also one of the largest SR-EIPs for summer 1999 from among the Leadership Alliance's 15 participating members and two corporate partners (IBM and Schering-Plough).

"Columbia is dedicated to the growth and enrichment of its student body and has long been committed to strengthening the racial, ethnic and cultural diversity of the University community," said Eduardo Macagno, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. "Graduate school is a distinctive enterprise. Many applicants find their interests shifting once they contemplate the individual attraction of different professions. Our SRP provides an opportunity for participants to explore their research interests with the guidance of faculty mentors."

Columbia's SRP offers eight weeks of intensive research under the direct supervision of a faculty mentor. Students, in collaboration with their mentors, take up on-going research or design unique independent studies. Students are required to live at the Morningside campus and attend a weekly lecture series, produce a research paper that they present at Columbia's symposium and present their research findings orally or as a poster at the Leadership Alliance's national annual symposium.

The students are also introduced to Macagno and the deans of Columbia University's various graduate schools. "This is an amazing group of students," said Martha Jones, a Columbia doctoral fellow in history and SRP coordinator for the Office of Minority Affairs and Special Programs, which administers the program. This is Jones' third year as program coordinator, and she says she is always surprised by how quickly the students acclimate and progress.

"They come to us from all over the country, most with only a vague ambition, modest research skills and experience," said Jones. "We expect them to do research that approaches the graduate level, to master their field enough to make a real contribution to the work and to engage in the scholarly dialog-all in eight short weeks-and they do! They successfully engage in a level of scholarship that for most of them is far above what they have ever done before."

During an eight-week residency at Columbia, the students attend a weekly lecture and group discussion called "the Scholarly Journey series" that highlights the research methods and techniques used by scholars in various fields; explores the graduate school application process and provides a look into the graduate experience from personal insights of faculty, graduate students, program staff and visiting scholars.

"We believe that the demanding process of applying to graduate school should also be personally rewarding, said Deborah McCoy, director of the GSAS Minority Affairs and Special Programs and Alliance SR-EIP coordinator. "It is an opportunity for self-discovery, for clarifying one's goals as they relate to one's personal values, and for beginning to understand more deeply the nature, purpose and commitment of pursuing a graduate education."

"We really want the students to start to see themselves as graduate students," said Jones. "My job is to help them sort through all their various options and find out what is right for them. Some of them will choose graduate school at Columbia and some won't. I'm just as interested that they all leave with a clear idea of what they really want."