In the fall months of 2019 into the early weeks of 2020, Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) Training Program Director, Ann Smith, and Program Manager, Dawn Fizer, prepared for another year of summer curricula. Between Ann and Dawn’s 30 years’ experience managing MHRC programs, neither could have been ready for the changes they would encounter in 2020. As COVID-19 got closer and closer to home, many programs received instructions from national offices on whether or not they would be proceeding with their annual events. When necessary, it was left to individual schools and research centers to determine how they would be moving forward with their summer programs.

The MHRC offers four different training programs—geared toward undergraduate, graduate, and junior faculty & post-doctoral fellows. Click one of the groups below to learn more about the program(s) available.

When it became clear a new strategy was needed for teaching and research during the pandemic, the MHRC team quickly jumped into action. Using technology primarily used for traditional academic coursework, online platforms such as Canvas were retooled for the needs of summer program learning. They created a new SCREP site in Canvas. Using this software, learning materials were broken down into modules that included readings, videos, discussions, and more—making it an effective way to review and give feedback on key learnings.

While tools like Canvas helped with the educational component of these programs, there was still the mentorship and in-person interactions needed to create well-rounded summer research experiences. For STEP-UP, the nature of the pandemic didn’t allow participants to complete the full program during the traditional summer timeline. To maintain an equal and safe learning environment for all, the STEP-UP national office decided to postpone the mentored research experience initiatives until the fall semester.

For CRISP, SCREP, and HDREP, the MHRC Training team used a tool that everyone has become all too familiar with, Zoom. Using Zoom, students, speakers, and program leaders can attempt to replicate the face-to-face interactions and experiences that participants would have as if they were on campus. Additionally, Dawn shared that from the student perspective, “for at least the next year, students will have to do medical school interviews and college interviews in the Zoom setting. Having this experience helped them learn best practices for using the tool—like how to ignore their little picture in the corner.”

Most notably, the MHRC team used Zoom to host the Cancer Research Symposium (pictured below) for the MSM/TU/UAB Cancer Partnership investigators and scholars. Similar to how it would work in a traditional year, students were tasked with researching their topic, developing a poster and/or PowerPoint, and presenting. To keep everything running efficiently, participants pre-recorded their 3-minute “Lightning Talk” presentations. Individual videos were compiled into one and played in their applicable sessions.

Using this technology, and teamwork with the MSM/TU/UAB Cancer Partnership leaders, Ann and Dawn were able to keep the Cancer Research Symposium—a cornerstone in MHRC summer programs—running without missing a beat.

Throughout this summer’s challenges, the MHRC team was forced to pivot and adapt to ever-changing circumstances. Now, with a grant renewal ahead, and a year of digital programming under their belts, Ann and Dawn will move forward with the key learnings of 2020 for even better student experiences in the future.