Diversity Hub

We in the department of Neurosurgery are working in partnership with the non-profit organization Oasis for Girls to offer paid internship programs for underserved high school female youth of color (ages 14-18) to expose them to medical and healthcare professional careers with mentorship, career path exploration, and professional development through hospital rotations in labs, the OR, and other academic or healthcare locations, with research projects, presentations, and interactive activities. We accept a group of 15-18 youth per cycle with 3 application / intern cycles per year. We are expanding our programs to reach other demographics (e.g. young Black males, LGBTQ+ youth, college pre-med students). Altogether these programs are housed under the title Neurosurgery Community Internship Programs (NCIP).

RIDR is a research and academic career development program funded by the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and developed by the department's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. We provide unique research experiences and focused mentorship to students from diverse backgrounds. Our goal is to provide an early opportunity for students to explore radiology as a career choice and support the next wave of innovation in our field.

PITCH is a FREE opportunity for incoming high school juniors, particularly those who may be the first in their families to pursue a four-year college degree, to spend three weeks at UCSF, exploring careers in healthcare, and looking into the educational pathways that lead to different careers, and learning professional skills that will help them along the way. PITCH students are mentored by current UCSF students in the Graduate Division, dental school, pharmacy school, medical school, and nursing school as they complete a group research project and receive one-on-one and small group academic advising from EAOP counselors. PITCH has three core components: (1) Exposure to Careers in Health - presented through a combination of hands-on workshops or guest lectures, led by UCSF students, faculty and staff; (2) College Awareness - Assists students to better understanding the college search and application process; and (3) Group Work on a Research Project - PITCH students research a specific disease, which allows them to develop an understanding for the roles of the various health professionals treating the disease.

Each June, the Early Academic Outreach Program supports UCSF students in holding a one-week free summer day camp at the Parnassus campus for rising fifth- and sixth-grade students. Summer Science Camp was established by UCSF School of Pharmacy student Heather Hertema in 2007 to excite, motivate, and inspire youth, especially those who are underrepresented and underserved in natural and health sciences to pursue the natural and health sciences both in college and as a career. Each year, the camp affords up to 55 students the opportunity to experience hands-on, inquiry-based science. The camp also promotes positive interaction with professional students, campus scientists, and health professionals who serve as role models.

The annual two-day workshop is an intensive and interactive meeting designed to provide mid-level and senior faculty in HIV research with the tools for more effective mentoring, especially of mentees of diversity (defined mainly as those from underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities). The workshops discusses barriers related to being an early career investigator of diversity (e.g. microaggressions, unconscious bias), and features didactic and interactive sessions on practical tips for mentoring, including sessions on distance mentoring, funding sources for mentoring efforts, time management, manuscript writing, grant writing, individual development plans, teaching work-life balance to mentees, alternative funding strategies, etc.

Strategic Opportunities Support (SOS) seeks to advance clinical and translational research at UCSF by providing funding resources to catalyze research and career development activities in clinical and translational sciences.

The Summer Biomedical Internship (SBI) program was established in 1988 to provide a quality biomedical research experience for students in the Central San Joaquin Valley. The program matches high school students, in the summer between their junior and senior year of high school with faculty members who have or are developing a research project. Students are chosen based on their scholastic abilities and must reside in the 6 county valley area. Students are matched with a faculty mentor on a project for approximately 6-7 during the summer. The internship also includes opportunities for field trips to local hospitals, UCSF main campus and to attend various lectures and grand rounds. The internship culminates in the "Presentation of Projects" on the first Wednesday in August.

The Women in Academic Medicine group was formed at UCSF Fresno in 2014 to create a supportive community to help foster and support women pursuing academic careers in medicine at all stages of their careers. The group meets quarterly (October, January, April and July) to provide career development and networking opportunities.

Career Development provide resources to enable greater diversity at UCSF, to support mentorship, and to improve the recruitment and retention of under-represented clinical and translational researchers. The goal of this program aims; (1) To advance the careers of clinical and translational researchers by providing career advice, research mentoring, and support; (2) To advance under-represented groups in clinical and translational science at UCSF, in collaboration with the UCSF Chancellor's Diversity Initiative and School-based Diversity Taskforces, the CTSI CD Program has vigorous programs to recruit and retain underrepresented faculty and trainees; and (3) To promote culture change so that clinical and translational researchers are appropriately rewarded.

Center for Aging in Diverse Communities (CADC) scholars will have the opportunity to interact with investigators on the CADC center grant, enhance their research skills and expand their knowledge about aging and disparities research among minority populations. Scholars will be assisted in developing and submitting a career-development or independent research proposal based on results of their pilot studies. CADC scholars will receive training in issues pertaining to minority aging research as well as feedback on papers, grant ideas, and other academic products through monthly seminars focused on works in progress with CADC faculty. They will be encouraged to participate in scientific meetings and training opportunities offered by the National Institute on Aging. CADC Scholars will also have access to the resource cores of the UCSF Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) that supports research on the determinants of outcomes of disability in vulnerable elders. The OAIC will also be co-funding one of the CADC pilot awards focused on vulnerable older adults.