The University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) received a grant from the National Cancer Institute Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities for the CAncer Training Affecting Lives of Young Scientists and Teachers (CATALYST) program. CATALYST will serve as the cancer-focused arm of the groundbreaking UMB CURE program that began in 2015 to provide broad STEM enrichment and wraparound support to middle school students and their families from West Baltimore communities. Our long-term goal is to excite the next generation of researchers and caregivers about careers in STEM fields and provide them with experiences that foster their success to ultimately produce a biomedical workforce that reflects the diversity of our country.

The fields of microbiology and immunology (M&I) have been at the epicenter of recent transformative scientific discoveries as well as unprecedented public health challenges that have fueled demand for professionals in these fields. Translating these discoveries into novel strategies to combat pathogens and improve human health involves complex interdisciplinary research and requires broad perspectives from those in the science and healthcare workforce. To fill this acute workforce need, the Supporting Undergraduate Members in Microbiology and Immunology Research (SUMMIR) program will utilize the robust resources of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and partner institutions to provide integrated research experiences, courses for skills and professional development and multi-faceted mentoring that will inspire undergraduate interns who comprise the next generation of leaders in these fields.