Former College of Western Idaho students are making a big difference; changing the world and their careers through the Southwestern Idaho Bridges to Baccalaureate Program (or just B2B!). Our students are building knowledge through research, and sharing this knowledge with other scientists around the country. From College Park, Maryland to Ashland, Oregon – coast to coast – B2B Fellows have presented at numerous scientific symposia, won awards, and conducted outreach to motivate others in following a research career path.
“We just couldn’t be more proud of the students from CWI, they’ve come to Boise State ready to hit the ground running and have exceeded our expectations for undergraduate scholars," said Dr. Cheryl Jorcyk, Professor of Biological Sciences and Director of Clinical/Translation Research at Boise State University.
The B2B program is a National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored effort to fuel the biomedical research pipeline beginning with 2 and 4-year colleges and universities. The B2B program does this by specifically recruiting underrepresented students from community colleges and encourages their transfer to a partnering four-year school by way of authentic research experiences in biomedical research laboratories. Participating students enter the program while at CWI, are mentored, and are placed in paid positions in research labs during their “bridge” summer and their first academic year at Boise State. They will engage in a variety of professional development opportunities such as social networking and responsible conduct of research training. Students will meet regularly with faculty advisors and laboratory team members and attend one or more conferences at the end of the program to present their specific contribution to the team’s research. The B2B program is an excellent opportunity for students that might not typically follow a biomedical research career path to experience what it would be like to be a researcher and advance knowledge in a rapidly changing, exciting, and highly technical field. For more information on the program or to see if you qualify, please write to Dr. Steve Lysne: stevelysne@cwi.edu.
If you’d like to make a difference or explore a career in research, the B2B program is now accepting applications for our fourth cohort of B2B student researchers. If you’re planning on transferring to Boise State for the fall of 2021 then now is the time to apply. For more information see the B2B program.
B2B QUICK FACTS -
- B2B is a 5 year, $1.5M grant to BSU & CWI from NIH
- B2B Fellows will be compensated during their Bridge summer AND during their junior year
- B2B is designed to increase participation by underrepresented students
- B2B expects to help students transition to a biomedical research career path via
- Advising and Mentoring
- Academic Preparation
- Authentic Research Experiences
- Opportunities for Networking
- Financial Support
