UCI said its professor of physical medicine & rehabilitation, Brian Cummings, has received a five-year, $2.7 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine to establish a training program for first-generation and underserved students pursuing careers in public health and regenerative medicine.
The two-year program, the Creating Opportunities Through Mentorship and Partnership Across Stem Cell Science (COMPASS), will cover students’ tuition and provide them a stipend as they work with faculty mentors, learn lab skills and earn a certificate in clinical research coordination. COMPASS will train 25 undergraduate and two-year college transfer students. The program is administered by the Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, which Cummings helped establish over a decade ago, UCI said.
“COMPASS provides the opportunity for students to explore a variety of ways in which their education and research skills can be applied toward improving human health through career paths in the public and private sectors,” Cummings said in a statement. “UCI’s COMPASS scholars program will produce a cadre of well-trained individuals who are ready to contribute to the workforce.”
