Strategies for diversifying the pool of graduate students in biomedical sciences.

As part of our National Cancer Institute-sponsored partnership between New Mexico State University and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, we implemented the cancer research internship for undergraduate students to expand the pipeline of underrepresented students who can conduct cancer-related research. A total of 21 students participated in the program from 2008 to 2011. Students were generally of senior standing (47%), female (90 %), and Hispanic (85 %). We present a logic model to describe the short-, medium-, and long-term outputs of the program. Comparisons of pre- and post-internship surveys showed significant improvements in short-term outputs including interest (p<0.001) and motivation (p<0.001) to attend graduate school, as well as preparedness to conduct research (p=0.01) and write a personal statement (p=0.04). Thirteen students were successfully tracked, and of the nine who had earned a bachelor's degree, six were admitted into a graduate program (67 %), and four of these programs were in the biomedical sciences.

Stress Among Latinos: Does it Vary by Occupation and Agricultural Season?

OBJECTIVE: Stress is pervasive among Latino immigrants. We identified seasonal and occupational patterns in stress among rural Latino immigrants. METHODS: During three agricultural periods, farmworker and non-farmworker participants responded to a 24-item stress questionnaire (Snipes et al, 2007). We measured the associations of stress with occupation, with season, and occupation within season, adjusting for demographic variables. RESULTS: The highest levels of stress were observed in the pre-thinning season when pruning takes place among farmworkers. Stress is significantly higher in farmworkers compared with non-farmworkers only in the non-spray season when crops are dormant. Higher income was associated with decreased stress in the pre-thinning and thinning seasons when buds and small fruit are removed from orchards. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of strategies to reduce stress in Latino migrants is warranted. Although some sources of stress may be intractable, others may be amenable to intervention.