The National Institute of Mental Health/Career Opportunities in Research (NIMH/COR) training program at The University of New Mexico (UNM) has been directed by Philip A. May for over 18 years. The aim of this grant is to start research training earlier in a student's education and to produce dedicated mental health researchers. This honors undergraduate program trains qualified Hispanics, American Indians, African and Asian Americans, and other under served students in research in mental health and co-morbidity. Typically, nine students are NIMH-funded, and two students are UNM-funded per year. Students receive intensive training and "hands-on" experience in research mentorships, summer internships, colloquia, and seminars. Students are personally encouraged, advised, and taught by multi-ethnic faculty for successful integration of research norms, ethics, knowledge, and techniques for scientific research. Students work with and develop close personal relationships with accomplished researchers in various areas of mental health. They are also encouraged to foster and maintain a "culture of excellence" among themselves as COR honor students. This culture of excellence is a key mechanism of education and advancement within the program.
In bi-weekly COR seminars during the school year and weekly seminars in the summer, a great deal of advising is accomplished. Although the major purpose of the seminars is to discuss current, topical mental health and co-morbidity literature, extensive exposure is provided to DSM-IV diagnoses, mental health and illness epidemiology, other substantive matters, and the under-pinning science, knowledge, wisdom, truth, and ethics. A great deal of advising and multi-directional feedback also occurs. The small group interaction brings an efficient opportunity for advice and information which all participants can use.
Students get highly specialized training in research and substantive areas within their chosen major. They are able to employ their knowledge and skills for two summers in specific projects relating to their particular mental health research interests. The mentors for the projects further enhance and polish the student's particular, applied skills and imbue in them the techniques, paradigms, ethics, and values of research. Most students continue a formal relationship with their mentor and their research project during fall and winter semesters via independent study credits. The broader support functions, such as curriculum planning, career counseling, research placement, interdisciplinary approaches, and general research skills, are carefully overseen by the Program Director and COR faculty. The COR faculty teach the regular seminars and facilitate graduate school applications.
The COR program ensures that students have specific academic skills, an overview of the entire field of mental health research, and the specific personal resources and attributes which will qualify them for graduate school and successful careers in mental health research. It is the intent of the NIMH/COR program at The University of New Mexico to train new mental health researchers even more effectively than in the past. Further, the COR program will assist the University to make further strides in minority relevance, particularly in the area of mental health research.
PI: Philip A. May, Ph.D. (pmay@unm.edu)
In bi-weekly COR seminars during the school year and weekly seminars in the summer, a great deal of advising is accomplished. Although the major purpose of the seminars is to discuss current, topical mental health and co-morbidity literature, extensive exposure is provided to DSM-IV diagnoses, mental health and illness epidemiology, other substantive matters, and the under-pinning science, knowledge, wisdom, truth, and ethics. A great deal of advising and multi-directional feedback also occurs. The small group interaction brings an efficient opportunity for advice and information which all participants can use.
Students get highly specialized training in research and substantive areas within their chosen major. They are able to employ their knowledge and skills for two summers in specific projects relating to their particular mental health research interests. The mentors for the projects further enhance and polish the student's particular, applied skills and imbue in them the techniques, paradigms, ethics, and values of research. Most students continue a formal relationship with their mentor and their research project during fall and winter semesters via independent study credits. The broader support functions, such as curriculum planning, career counseling, research placement, interdisciplinary approaches, and general research skills, are carefully overseen by the Program Director and COR faculty. The COR faculty teach the regular seminars and facilitate graduate school applications.
The COR program ensures that students have specific academic skills, an overview of the entire field of mental health research, and the specific personal resources and attributes which will qualify them for graduate school and successful careers in mental health research. It is the intent of the NIMH/COR program at The University of New Mexico to train new mental health researchers even more effectively than in the past. Further, the COR program will assist the University to make further strides in minority relevance, particularly in the area of mental health research.
PI: Philip A. May, Ph.D. (pmay@unm.edu)
