In 2004, NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) launched a research initiative to understand the efficacy of interventions intended to increase the number of minorities in biomedical research careers. The goal is to develop an empirical base of evidence for use in developing new interventions and improving existing efforts.

The nine projects funded in 2004 and 2005 investigate a range of assumptions and interventions. Some of the projects examine data from multiple programs, not just those funded by NIGMS. One project studies the impact of a research experience on a student's overall performance. Although we may assume that such experiences are beneficial, could there be cases in which students are not ready for the demands of this extracurricular activity and are negatively affected? Another project probes the benefit of "multitiered" mentoring, in which program participants receive guidance from individuals at different career stages, such as graduate students, postdocs, and research faculty. Two projects focus on activities that enhance how students feel about their abilities and potential for research careers. For more information, see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-07-005.html.

These studies are just beginning to produce data and prepare articles for publication. In addition to the efficacy grants, NIGMS is partnering with the National Academies of Science in organizing a meeting in January 2007 (www.nationalacademies.org/moreworkshop) to highlight major research questions and appropriate methodologies needed to design and test interventions. We hope that the meeting will help broaden the base of the research and increase the number of highly competitive proposals in this area.