The Wright Lab

 

Cynthia F. Wright, Ph.D.
Professor
Microbiology and Immunology
Education
1979 B.S., University of Florida
1985 Ph.D., State University of New York at Albany

Contact Info
wrightcf@musc.edu
Tel: 843-876-2403
BE 101N

Research Interests
My current interests revolve around graduate student education and career development, particularly with regard to enhancing the diversity of the biomedical workforce. I am the Principal Investigator, or co-Principal Investigator, on three current extramurally funded NIH R25 training awards. The goal of these programs is to conduct research on the best mechanisms to enhance the success of students underrepresented in the sciences throughout the training continuum. The first of these grants provides a summer research experience for undergraduate students and has supported 12-16 students per year for the past 13 years (R25 HL092611). I am also the director of an Initiative for Maximizing Student Development Program (IMSD, R25 GM072643) that supports PhD students in our graduate program their first and second years of graduate school. The IMSD program currently has 6 students appointed to the grant per year and I have directed this program for 13 years. The third program is a Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP, R25 GM113278), whose goal is to help students who have recently graduated from college be prepared for, and apply to, graduate schools.

As a member of the AAMC Group on Graduate Research, Education, and Training (GREAT) I serve on the PhD outreach committee. Our members volunteer as a panel discussants and workshop leaders at several national meetings including the NIH graduate fair, the GREAT group annual meeting, the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science annual meeting, and the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. Our goals are to help students and advisers understand the pathways to obtaining the PhD in biomedical sciences and career options for graduates.

Research Presentations and Products Related to Biomedical Workforce Training
1. V.Freedman, N. Schwartz, N. Street, and C. Wright. Critical Interventions to Help STEM Students Prepare for Graduate School. 11th Annual Understanding Interventions Conference, Baltimore, MD, March 8-11, 2019. Platform presentation.
2. V.H. Freedman, N. Schwartz, W.D. Wessinger, A. Van Wart, N.E. Street, S.J. Black, I. Tartakovsky, and C.F. Wright. The PhD Outreach Committee*: Informing and Inspiring the Next Generation of Scientists. 2018 GREAT Group Annual Professional Development Meeting, Atlanta, GA, September 27-19, 2018. Poster and platform presentation.
3. Video: What Admissions Directors Think About Getting into Graduate School.
4.Video: Biomedical Scientist (PhD) Programs: How to Prepare and Apply.


Research Support
R25 GM072643 (Wright PI) 03/01/05-02/29/24
NIH/NIGMS
MUSC Minority Student Development Program
This grant provides funding for minority graduate student stipends and for programs that enrich their development and success in graduate school.

R25 GM113278 (Kasman/Wright, MPI) 02/01/15-01/31/20
NIH/NIGMS
MUSC Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program
This grant provides funding for post-baccalaureate students to have a one-year enrichment program to help them apply to and succeed in biomedical PhD programs.

R25HL092611 (Wright PI) 05/10/08-04/30/23
NIH/NHLBI
MUSC Short-Term Research Education Program to Increase Diversity
The objective of this program is to provide short-term (10 weeks) training experience for undergraduate students in the area of cardiovascular function and disease.

Burroughs Wellcome Award (Wright co-PI) 08/01/16-07/31/19
Offering an Entrepreneurship Course to Trainees in the Biomedical Sciences
This grant provides funding to develop an online course in entrepreneurship to be offered to trainees in the biomedical sciences.

Link to Publication List

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