title: Capacity-Building for Career Paths in Public Health and Biomedical Research for Undergraduate Minority Students: A Jackson Heart Study Success Model.
abstract: This article chronicles the building of individual student capacity as well as faculty and institutional capacity, within the context of a population-based, longitudinal study of African Americans and cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this article is to present preliminary data documenting the results of this approach.
  
  
  
  The JHS Scholars program is designed, under the organizational structure of the Natural Sciences Division at Tougaloo College, to provide solid preparation in quantitative skills through: good preparation in mathematics and the sciences; a high level of reading comprehension; hands-on learning experiences; and mentoring and counseling to sustain the motivation of the students to pursue further studies.
  
  
  
  This program is on the campus of a private Historically Black College in Mississippi.
  
  
  
  The participants in the program are undergraduate students.
  
  
  
  Data, which included information on major area of study, institution attended, degrees earned and position in the workforce, were analyzed using STATA 14.
  
  
  
  Of 167 scholars, 46 are currently enrolled, while 118 have graduated. One half have completed graduate or professional programs, including; medicine, public health, pharmacy, nursing, and biomedical science; approximately one-fourth (25.4 %) are enrolled in graduate or professional programs; and nearly one tenth (9.3%) completed graduate degrees in law, education, business or English.
  
  
  
  These data could assist other institutions in understanding the career development process that helps underrepresented minority students in higher education to make career choices on a path toward public health, health professions, biomedical research, and related careers.
authors.affiliation: Jackson Heart Study, Natural Science Division at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS.
authors.forename: Wendy Brown
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Jackson Heart Study, Natural Science Division at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS.
authors.forename: Asoka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Srinivasan
authors.affiliation: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Jackson Heart Study, Natural Science Division at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS.
authors.forename: Nimr
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fahmy
authors.affiliation: Jackson Heart Study, Natural Science Division at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Henderson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American; D035843:Biomedical Research; D057191:Capacity Building; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000208:ethnology*; D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups; D011634:Public Health; D013334:Students; D000078329:Workforce; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cardiovascular Disease; Mentor; Training; Undergraduate