ADEPT Program

Advancing Diversity by Educating the Professors of Tomorrow (ADEPT)

Leadership, Mission and Goals

Biotechnology is highly interdisciplinary, bringing together basic and applied research approaches across the life sciences and engineering to solve problems in agriculture, health care and natural resource management. It is critical that diverse perspectives are brought to bear the complex global challenges addressed by biotechnology research and that students along this career path have access to mentors and role models from diverse backgrounds.

CAMPOS - Mary Lou and Ray Funded by the University of California-Hispanic Serving Institutions Doctoral Diversity Initiative (UC-HSI DDI), the mission of the ADEPT project is to develop, implement and evaluate an innovative training model to diversify the professoriate in STEM disciplines related to biotechnology. The Biotechnology Program serves as the administrative home of ADEPT, under the leadership of Co-I Denneal Jamison-McClung (Biotechnology Program) and PI Karen McDonald (Chemical Engineering, Biotech Program Advisory Committee, DEB Executive Committee). The program will work closely with HSI partners at Sacramento State University, under the leadership of Associate Dean Yinfa Ma, as well as the UC Davis Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS) program, under the leadership of Director Mariel Vazquez (Mathematics; Microbiology and Molecular Genetics). The leadership team will gather a distinguished group of faculty with expertise in biotechnology and promotion of STEM diversity from UC Davis and Sacramento State to serve as program advisors and student mentors.

Participating Faculty and Administrators

We are recruiting and will support a diverse group of STEM graduate students from Sacramento State and UC Davis interested in academic research careers and the professoriate through: CAMPOS 4H Mentoring

1) Designing and building the Path-to-the-Professoriate (P2P) mentoring network, a catalytic cross-institutional program to educate and prepare graduate students from historically underrepresented groups for transitioning to the Professoriate.

2) Accelerating the creation of a vibrant, welcoming and diverse STEM graduate student research community through the establishment of the ADEPT Summer Research Fellowships. Student awardees will receive $6000 over the course of two academic years for summer research and participation in the annual SACNAS conference (Year 1 - $1500 towards a literature review related to their project and SACNAS registration; Year 2 - $2000 stipend for two months, as well as $500 towards supplies and poster printing). All current ADEPT students will be eligible to apply. Application coming soon!

3) Hosting a regional ADEPT Leadership Workshop & Symposium (~1.5-2 days) that will highlight milestones along the professorial career trajectory, explore ways to build a resilient science identity, build positive professional mentee-mentor relationships and introduce best practices for preparing a competitive faculty job application for both research intensive and comprehensive universities (e.g. writing diversity statements, teaching philosophies, etc).

Professional Development Resources for Graduate Students

Mentorship and Networking

College Teaching

Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs and Positions

Finding Faculty Jobs

Resources for ADEPT Faculty

ADEPT Student Application

UC Davis doctoral and master's degree students and Sacramento State University master's degree students pursuing research in topic areas related to biotechnology are eligible to apply for ADEPT program participation. We have finalized the AY 2020-2021 cohort of trainees as of March 19, 2021. If interested in adding late to the AY2020-2021 cohort or applying for the AY2021-2022 cohort, fill out the ADEPT Application Form. Please direct any questions about the application process or upcoming P2P activities to Dr. Jamison-McClung.

ADEPT Foundations

The ADEPT pilot program will build on the Biotechnology Program's expertise in graduate student training and mentoring, as well as program leaders' familiarity with equity and inclusion challenges faced by early career STEM professionals from historically marginalized groups gained during their work in the UC Davis ADVANCE program (NSF HRD 1209235, PI Linda Katehi). The ADEPT leadership will work closely with UC Davis Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (VC Renetta Garrison Tull) to maximize regional impact. VC Tull recently participated as a member of the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine - Committee on Effective Mentoring in STEMM. The committee's report delves into best practices for mentoring and highlights challenges that remain:

"The nation’s federal investment in broadening participation over the last 40 years has yielded observable increases in the STEMM baccalaureate and graduate degrees attained by individuals from underrepresented groups. They are part of the fastest-growing sociodemographic groups in the U.S. population. The challenge remains, how can the talent of these individuals be effectively developed once they are enrolled in STEMM degree programs? We hope that this report informs practice, research, and theory on mentorship in STEMM as part of the solution to address this challenge."

Angela Byars-Winston, Chair, Committee on the Science of Effective Mentoring in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2019. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.