D-DEI, Christopher Arnette, traveled to Phoenix, AZ to participate in the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Students. The specific goals of attending and having a booth at this conference were to raise awareness about IMOD, but also to recruit for the 2024 IMOD REU program and to foster relationships amongst groups underrepresented in STEM.
The 2023 ABRCMS conference consisted of over 5000 in-person individuals:
2885 – Community College, Undergraduate, and Postbaccalaureate students
700 – Graduate students and postdoctoral scientists
969 – Researchers, Program Directors, and Administrators
1031 – Exhibitors
Engaging with and students, faculty, and postdocs from groups underrepresented in STEM in spaces that center their experiences is critical to improving the broadening participation goals of IMOD and of STEM in general. Over the course of four days, D-DEI promoted the overall mission of IMOD and spread awareness about the STC to the larger cohort of groups underrepresented in STEM. The D-DEI also worked to recruit students to apply to the 2024 IMOD Research Experience for Undergraduates, and to identify and foster relationships with minority serving institutions across the country. The conference helped to raise the profile of IMOD within these communities and, as the first-time having representation at this conference, provided valuable information on ways to continue to engage in the future.