NYMC Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Strategic Plan 2022-2027

STRATEGIC PLAN – 2022-2027

Prepared by the NYMC GSBMS Strategic Planning Taskforce:

Tetyana Cheairs, M.D., M.S.P.H. (Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology) – Chair

Ken Lerea, Ph.D. (Cell Biology & Anatomy) – Co-Chair

Dana Mordue, Ph.D. (Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology)

Carl Thompson, Ph.D. (Physiology, President Faculty Senate)

Marcello Rota, Ph.D. (Physiology)

Sachin Gupte, Ph.D. (Pharmacology)

Victor Garcia, Ph.D. (Pharmacology)

Joseph Wu, Ph.D. (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)

Patric Stanton, Ph.D. (Cell Biology and Anatomy)

Carol Carbonaro, Ph.D., SM, MLSCM (ASCP) (Clinical Laboratory Sciences Program)

Catherine Yankou, M.P.H. (Graduate Recruitment & Advisement)

Tara Jarboe, Ph.D. candidate (Microbiology & Immunology, Ph.D. representative)

July 18, 2022

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Following the issuance of the 2015-2020 Strategic Plan, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBMS) 1 at New York Medical College (NYMC) has implemented several strategies to enhance growth and innovation:

• A new degree program, Master’s in Clinical Laboratory Sciences of the GSBMS, was launched in 2018. In May of 2022, the program received a 5-year accreditation from the National Accreditation Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) committee. Since its launch in 2018, the program has welcomed over 30 applicants (41 applicants accepted and 33 enrolled). Nine of the 16 students eligible for graduation after completing 2 years in the program, have graduated.

• A Professional Science Master’s program track in each of the departmental six disciplinebased programs was launched in 2015. This program provides students with a firm grounding in the scientific discipline of their choice with additional coursework related to business, management, communication skills, regulatory affairs, and other topics important to career success outside of the scientific content of their chosen discipline. More recently, this track was restructured and appropriately renamed the Biomedical Sciences and Management track to accurately reflect the curricular design. The majority of the applicants who are accepted to this track are employed in the industry sector and perform their capstone project at their place of work. The goal of the applicants is to advance in their current position as well as to gain expertise in a diverse area. The average matriculation rate is 1-2 students a year.

• In 2022, the curriculum of a highly competitive one-year Accelerated Master’s Program (AMP), in which students take select pre-clinical medical school courses alongside NYMC’s first-year School of Medicine (SOM) students, was revised to integrate with the new SOM curriculum. Although there is no guarantee of acceptance to NYMC’s SOM or any other medical school, students who have successfully completed the didactic portion of the AMP track have an impressive medical school acceptance rate of greater than 85% Of those admitted to medical school, over 40% have chosen to attended SOM at NYMC.

• The GSBMS initiated guaranteed interview agreements with several universities and colleges of the Touro University for students in the GSBMS Master of Science (Master’s) programs and graduates who meet specific benchmarks. These agreements currently include NYMC, Touro’s Osteopathic Schools of Medicine in New York and California, the Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) at NYMC, New York College of Podiatric Medicine and Physician Assistant Programs at Touro College School of Health Sciences, New York.

1 In July of 2022, in response to the GSBMS Dean’s initiative, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences was renamed to the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences after approval by the Graduate Faculty Council and the Board of Trustees of New York Medical College.

• The GSBMS has restructured both academic advising as well as program requirements. Curriculum redesign was implemented for all Master’s and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs.

o Beginning 2020-2021, all Master’s students in Track A (literature review pathway) are required to take a core curriculum that allows them to be exposed to an interdisciplinary curriculum, but still have flexibility to gain expertise within their departmental discipline. As part of this restructuring, all Master’s students are required to enroll in Select Topics courses that allow them to develop an ability to critically evaluate scientific literature and communicate in both oral and written formats, assuring that these educational objectives of the GSBMS are achieved.

o Beginning 2021-2022, all Master’s students in Track B (research track pathway) are required to take a core curriculum that allows them greater exposure to research endeavors.

o All Ph.D. programs now require students to acquire teaching experience. Such a forcredit requirement allows students to obtain an important set of skills by participating in supervised teaching activities.

• All matriculated PhD students were accepted either to the postdoctoral training programs (chosen by over 65% of graduates) or employed mainly by industry or academia (over 20%). All graduates from MD/PhD program continued medical education, residency or clinical practice.

• The Life in Biomedical Research course was modified based on student feedback requesting increased focus on scientific careers. The revised course now focuses on highlighting science careers in academia, industry and beyond by providing students with an overview of diverse future career options. In addition, this course provides training in oral presentation skills, data analysis and figure preparation, basic grant writing and communication skills.

• In 2020, GSBMS Ph.D. students selected a number of Ph.D. representatives from each program and formed a group that deals with concerns and advocacy for Ph.D. students. GSBMS administration has also implemented Ph.D. student roundtable discussions to promote ongoing communication with Ph.D. students and an opportunity to gather their feedback about program requirements and GSBMS policies and procedures.

• Dean of the GSBMS led an initiative to create a Ph.D. colloquia series, designed to enhance presentation skills of Ph.D. students.

• Guidelines for the doctoral Qualifying Examination were revised in response to feedback from Ph.D. students to provide uniform format of examination across all Ph.D. programs.

• Dean’s Professional Development Initiative was established to support conference

registration fees, as well as annual society membership dues for graduate students. This initiative was developed in addition to the membership in the New York Academy of Sciences, which GSBMS continues to support.

• A number of policies were developed or revised and implemented by the GSBMS. For example, vacation and parental leave policies were developed to ensure work-life integration and equal opportunity for graduate students with family responsibilities to take a temporary leave of absence without disrupting their progress in the program.

• In March 2020, NYMC shifted to a digital infrastructure in response to COVID-19 pandemic, to securely and effectively facilitate remote education and work environments, while ensuring the continuity of teaching, learning, and assessment processes. GSBMS leadership and faculty regularly assess, update and implement safest teaching and learning practices in accordance with the NYMC and NY state guidelines and policies.

The total enrolment into the MS programs has increased since 2015 (see data below), a slight decrease in enrollment in 2021 was likely caused by COVID-19 pandemic. The enrollment into PhD programs remains steady.

Year Master’s Programs

PhD programs

The GSBMS Strategic Planning Taskforce comprised of graduate faculty, administration and students, was assembled in the Spring of 2021 to develop a 2022-2027 strategic plan and lay out GSBMS goals for the future growth and development of the GSBMS. To develop the 20222027 strategic plan, the taskforce objectively evaluated the current state of GSBMS scholarship, education and research, and incorporated feedback and input from administration, faculty and students. The Strategic Planning Taskforce has identified three major strategic priorities:

1. Enhancement of graduate research programs

2. Enrichment of graduate educational programs

3. Strengthening of graduate student support

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES (GSBMS)

The GSBMS at NYMC offers M.S. and Ph.D. programs in a wide array of biomedical research areas, including biochemistry and molecular biology, cell biology, microbiology and immunology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology. Master’s students can also pursue a degree in an interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (BMS) (Traditional or Accelerated tracks), or professional science programs, i.e., Biomedical Science and Management (BSM) and Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CLS). The Integrated Ph.D. Program (IPP) allows students to enter doctoral program prior to declaring a specific academic discipline. A dual M.D./Ph.D. degree program in any of the six biomedical science disciplines is available for qualified medical students from the NYMC SOM and direct admission into a discipline-based doctoral program is available to graduates of the Master’s program at NYMC.

Graduates of the M.S. and Ph.D. programs are expected to demonstrate knowledge of the major foundational and organizing concepts within the discipline of specialization, and to be able to critically evaluate the scientific literature in the discipline of the degree. Ph.D. students must also demonstrate mastery of the scientific method and knowledge of the principles governing responsible conduct of research.

The GSBMS Dean and the Assistant Deans for Master's and Ph.D. programs work collaboratively with Program Directors and the Graduate Faculty Council (GFC) to lead assessment efforts and enhance the GSBMS programs.

The GSBMS relishes being a part of TOURO University System, and prides itself as the only biomedical PhD degree granting program.

GSBMS MISSION

The mission of the GSBMS is to educate biomedical scientists and to prepare them for careers as researchers, teachers, innovators and leaders. GSBMS graduates pursue careers in academia, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and related biomedical industries, government, the not-for-profit sector and in the health professions. The GSBMS seeks to cultivate a dedicated, highly knowledgeable and skilled faculty, a diverse student body, interactive classes, individualized mentoring, and opportunities for hands-on internships and laboratory research training, thus, providing an outstanding and exciting educational experience for its students in a collegial atmosphere of excellence, scholarship and integrity.

GSBMS VISION

Educational programs at GSBMS strive to achieve leadership and innovation in graduate

education to provide graduate students with the foundational knowledge and skill set necessary for objective analysis, critical thinking, and conceptual synthesis as well as essential tools of scholarship, communication skills and professionalism that will prepare graduate students to pursue careers of their choice.

GSBMS CORE VALUES

In addition to the core guiding values of NYMC (excellence, human dignity, intellectual curiosity, service, diversity and inclusion, and integrity), GSBMS aims to promote the following values in its graduate students and faculty:

• Effective Communication: We expect the graduate students to be able to present wellorganized, coherent, persuasive arguments on their own research or on other scientific topics in oral, written and graphic formats. Students are expected to translate complex scientific concepts into language that lay audiences can understand and appreciate, and to accept constructive criticism in a receptive fashion.

• Teaching and Mentoring: Our faculty are dedicated to the intellectual development of each individual student. Outside of the classroom, the faculty mentor students regarding their individual career and professional development plans and challenges.

• Collegiality: Modern science is a collaborative process, so students are encouraged to work together on group assignments and collaborative research projects and engage with the broader community at GSBMS and NYMC.

GOALS AND STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

GOAL 1: ENHANCEMENT OF GRADUATE RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Strategic Objective: To develop mechanisms to encourage and strengthen basic and translational biomedical research and innovation, thus building strong and sustainable research programs for students and faculty to support the GSBMS mission to provide “opportunities for hands-on internships and laboratory research training.”

Ensuring an environment that values, promotes and supports excellence in basic, clinical and translational research will elevate the profile of NYMC, support increased competitiveness for extramural funding and provide diversity of educational experiences.

Subgoal 1: Enhancement of research opportunities for students.

• Tactic 1: Support of student training in research, including strategic placement of graduate students in the laboratories for research activities.

o Creation of a new position of a Clinical Research Coordinator who will coordinate clinical and translational research opportunities for the graduate students and faculty within GSBMS as well as across NYMC and its affiliates and collaborate closely with the Office of Research Administration and GSBMS administration.

o Strategic placement of students in the laboratories with established and well-funded research programs within and outside of the GSBMS. Such effort can be overseen in collaboration with Clinical Research Coordinator.

o Enhance recruitment of graduate faculty members from other schools affiliated with NYMC (SOM, School of Health Sciences and Practice (SHSP), TCDM) to advise graduate students.

o Regular updates of information pertaining to faculty research and graduate programs on the NYMC website and social media channels.

• Tactic 2: Development of intramural student funding opportunities.

o Establishment of funding opportunities for students similar to the existing intramural funding options for faculty to support student research. Such support can be in a form of modest stipend, equivalent to support received by the summer student research program.

Subgoal 2: Enhancement of funding opportunities for faculty members mentoring graduate students (in collaboration with the Office of Research Administration).

• Tactic 1: Reinstatement of intramural funding to support new research initiatives or exploration of new areas of study.

o This initiative will also require an establishment of a Grant Review Committee.

Rationale: Reestablishment of intramural funding opportunities (discontinued in 2015) for single or multiple PI projects is crucial for support of preliminary research and collection of pilot data to increase strength, competitiveness and success of proposals for extramural funding. This will broaden availability of research laboratories to accept graduate students for research training. This tactic will be developed in alignment with SOM.

• Tactic 2: Continuation of the current Bridge and Seed Funding Grant programs.

Rationale: Current Bridge and Seed Funding Grant programs contribute to the maintenance and advancement of established research programs at NYMC and encourage collaboration and interdisciplinary research between and among faculty, colleges and campuses throughout the Touro University.

• Tactic 3: Improvement of institutional support for grant development, particularly for faculty members mentoring graduate students.

o Identification of faculty members with well-funded, established research programs to create a faculty research mentoring programs for junior faculty (e.g., research support/mentorship group that will conduct review and training for the grants and application submissions process) and graduate students.

o Better advertisement of resources currently offered by the Office of Research Administration to assist with grants, subawards and contracts to include training/mentoring opportunities, administrative support, additional research staff (e.g., professional grant writers and pre-submission coordinators).

o Strengthen involvement of existing NYMC Research Support Services committee.

Rationale: Development and implementation of faculty research mentoring programs in collaboration with the Office of Research Administration and other NYMC-affiliated schools is crucial for support of developing research programs and facilitation of internal research review and approval processes. Certain resources can be outsourced to prevent high operational cost.

• Tactic 4: Advertisement and diversification of alternative sources for extramural funding as well as expansion of existing interactions with external organizations.

o This initiative will also require creation of a position of Liaison with Industry and External Organizations in the Office of Research Administration.

o Maintenance of the part-time Ph.D. program for applicants who wish to pursue a Ph.D. degree at GSBMS while continuing their professional activities at the place of their employment can increase graduate faculty network and collaborations between NYMC and external organizations.

Rationale: Exploration of new sources of funding from government agencies, foundations, industry sponsorship and individual donors should be encouraged to enhance institutional development and sustainability.

Subgoal 3: Promotion and support of new collaborations between basic, clinical and translational research to expand research opportunities for graduate faculty and students.

• Tactic 1: Implementation of mechanisms to foster opportunities for collaboration between clinical and graduate faculty (bench-to-bedside research).

o Chairs of the basic science and clinical departments and graduate program directors should explore collaborative interactions and develop incentives to anchor research conducted by the SOM and GSBMS faculty and students.

o Creation of an up-to-date sustainable and searchable database of current research areas, core facilities and equipment, including Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) and clinical samples available for NYMC and its affiliates. Such initiative can be coordinated by a Clinical Research Coordinator (Goal 1.1.1.)

o Consideration of other avenues to increase availability of clinical subjects/samples to enhance translational research collaborations. Such initiative can be coordinated by a Clinical Research Coordinator (Goal 1.1.1.).

• Tactic 2: Identify current areas of Research Concentration.

o Establishment of a taskforce in collaboration with the basic sciences departments and clinical faculty, to identify areas of research concentrations, appropriate administrative infrastructure and resources, qualified faculty as well as extramural funding sources with potential development of interdisciplinary Research Centers of Excellence. This tactic will be developed in alignment with SOM.

Rationale: Currently, the College highlights funded research in the fields of cancer biology and immunology, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, kidney disease, neuroscience, disaster medicine and vaccine development. Each “Research Center” should be interdisciplinary, bringing together faculty and students within each of the basic science disciplines and including, where relevant, faculty and students from the SHSP, the SOM and Westchester Medical Center (WMC). This initiative also provides impetus for development of new courses and graduate programs in the areas relevant to different Research Centers, increasing recruitment and competitiveness of graduate students.

Subgoal 4: Facilitation of establishment of financial incentives for faculty members mentoring graduate students (in collaboration with the Office of Research Administration).

• Tactic 1: Facilitate establishment of return on investment and grants and development of

cost-sharing arrangements.

Rationale: The return of a share of overhead costs is critical in supporting professional activities in research and student training, including, but not limited to, the purchasing of computer software and supporting travel to research-related conferences. Establishment of overhead cost return policies with defined rate of return will incentivize research and the submission of research proposals for extramural funding and can address important common needs of researchers such as shared equipment and core facilities. It would also incentivize faculty to accept graduate students in their laboratory.

• Tactic 2: Facilitate development of transparent policies for budgeting for postdoctoral fellow/research assistant support, including uniform fringe benefits costs/rates.

o Rationale: A clear guidance procedure on how to budget salary for postdoctoral fellows and research assistants will facilitate faculty recruitment of research support staff and reduce potential employment discrimination against candidates with families and greater employee benefit costs.

• Tactic 3: Expansion of mechanisms for supplying graduate faculty and students with funds to cover expenses related to promotion of their research and scholarship.

o Such funds can cover costs associated with manuscript preparation and publication, annual professional societies membership dues and conference registration fees, and reduced costs borne on research grants.

GOAL 2: ENHANCEMENT OF GRADUATE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

Strategic Objective: To offer graduate programs that support the GSBMS’s mission to cultivate “ a diverse student body, interactive classes, individualized mentoring” and to provide “outstanding and exciting educational experience for its students in a collegial atmosphere of excellence, scholarship and integrity.” In addition, to offer graduate faculty career development as well as time to support acquisition of expertise in teaching, research, and leadership while increasing faculty satisfaction with their professional experience, supporting a mission of the GSBMS to “cultivate a dedicated, highly knowledgeable and skilled faculty.”

Subgoal 1: Development of competitive graduate programs.

• Tactic 1: Enhancement and development of new tracks and academic programs, joint programs within Touro University, professional programs.

o Explore the possibility of creating new Certificate Tracks, which will include skillsbased sequences of courses in foundational disciplines, scientific writing, research

ethics, publishing and clinical regulatory affairs. Such tracks could encompass six to nine credits of coursework that could be recognized as elective credit within GSBMS programs and could also enhance the Biomedical Sciences and Management program by providing additional optional course selections and expanding potential internship opportunities.

o Explore the feasibility of certificate programs in specific biomedical scientific techniques such as bioinformatics and large data set analyses, flow cytometry, microscopy and confocal analysis, laboratory animal care and use.

o Investigate the possibility of creating new pathways towards a Master’s or Ph.D. degree and implement additional dual-degree programs, including, but not limited to, M.D./M.S., Ph.D./M.P.H., D.D.S./Ph.D. dual-degree programs. The goal of an M.D./M.S. dual degree would be to synergize experience in biomedical research with clinical training, without having to undertake a complete research doctorate program, thus enhancing competitiveness for residency and fellowship placements. The goal of Ph.D./M.P.H. dual degree program would be to apply Ph.D.-level research to many aspects of public health. The goal of interinstitutional D.D.S./Ph.D. degree would be to prepare TCDM students for academic dentistry and/or research career in dental, oral and craniofacial research.

o Explore possibility for development of new Ph.D. and Master’s programs based on the areas of expertise residing in the Research Centers (Goal 1.3.2.). Such programs (e.g., Ph.D. in Neuroscience or Cancer Biology) will attract a new pool of applicants and will increase competitiveness of GSBMS and success of our graduate students.

o Allocation of financial resources for the graduate programs to ensure stability of financing student research training.

• Tactic 2: Development of new courses and revision of existing curriculum.

o Identify Areas of Concentration and create specific course sequences including expertise from NYMC-affiliated schools (GSBMS, SOM, SHSP and TCDM). Areas of concentration might focus on our areas of research expertise and would ideally be broad enough to include examination of epidemiologic data and important clinical challenges and clinical trials as well as current basic science research.

o Explore development of new research and professional skills mini-courses (0.5 credit each) in specific biomedical scientific techniques such as bioinformatics and large data set analyses, flow cytometry, microscopy and confocal analysis, laboratory animal care and use. Such courses can be designed with assistance from core facilities personnel and can be offered to the graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty members. Potentially, such courses could be organized as workshops for the NYMC community and offered on per-fee basis to external research organizations.

o Explore possibility of developing arrangements with other NYMC-affiliated schools (in particular, SHSP) to simplify the process of course enrollment across different schools and the broaden the selection of courses offered to graduate students.

• Tactic 3: Enhancement of recruitment of quality applicants into graduate programs.

o Establishment of clear, yet holistic, criteria for admissions.

o Support of the Summer Trainee in Academic Research (STAR) program which allows high school and college students to obtain hands-on research experience.

o Explore new pipeline programs that attract students of local or regional undergraduate institutions to our Doctoral and Master’s programs.

Rationale: Such programs will provide mentoring experiences for students and promote strong ties between the GSBMS and local communities and will allow the GSBMS to reconnect with high school science-research programs.

o Negotiate articulation agreements with appropriate undergraduate institutions in tristate region in order to support a recruitment pipeline into GSBMS Master’s and Ph.D. programs.

Rationale: Such agreements offer recruiting benefits to the undergraduate school as well as creating a pipeline into GSBMS programs. Courses can be counted towards fulfillment of both the baccalaureate degree requirements and the future GSBMS degree requirements.

o Establishment of a Diversity in Biological Research program with the aim to recruit students from underrepresented groups into research, especially in Ph.D. programs. The initiatives either currently implemented or planned to be implemented in the future include removal of barriers for admission, such as eliminating requirement of GRE for the admission to the PhD and MS programs; conducting fundraising events, such as Days of Giving, to assist students with tuition cost

• Tactic 4: Development and implementation of assessment tools to evaluate student learning and to document achievement of core competencies across graduate programs.

o Strengthen current assessment strategies and implement new formalized periodic assessment tools (e.g., report card to be filled out annually) to demonstrate that graduate students are meeting competencies and allow for student feedback (e.g., course- and program-specific comments).

o Develop program assessment tools by creating a Program Effectiveness Committee that reports to the Dean of the GSBMS. Such a committee can be composed of the Assistant Deans for Master’s and Ph.D. programs and one outside member from another NYMC-affiliated school (SOM or SHSP).

Rationale: Such tools will ensure graduate students demonstrate competencies with respect to the educational objective and will address feedback from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education: “Efforts to institutionalize processes around evaluating and documenting achievement of core competencies across the programs in a systematic and organized manner would support operationalization.”

Subgoal 2: Enhancement of postdoctoral research fellowship program.

• Tactic 1: Development of program for training and professional development of postdoctoral fellows.

o Establishment of a centralized organizational oversight of postdoctoral training (e.g., Office of Postdoctoral Training) and professional development for postdoctoral fellows at NYMC, and/or creation of a position of an Assistant Dean for Postdoctoral Affairs.

o Enhancing postdoctoral recruitment into research labs at NYMC, including national advertisement of open postdoctoral positions and creating Postdoctoral Recruitment Events.

o Creation of an Individual Development Plan process for all postdoctoral fellows at NYMC to include any certificate tracks or courses that fit their career objectives.

o Reinvigoration of dormant NYMC Postdoctoral Association as a peer support, mental health support, and advocacy group.

Subgoal 3: Attainment of sufficient number of graduate faculty with appropriate expertise to meet current student needs (in collaboration with SOM administration).

• Tactic 1: Improvement in recruitment of new hires and commitment to the incoming faculty (in collaboration with SOM administration).

o Review and propose incentives (possibility of collaborations and competitive start-up packages) for sustained recruitment.

o Commitment to best practices to promote faculty diversity and equal opportunity.

o Enhancement of sustainable succession planning for faculty.

Rationale: Incentives including collaborative environment and competitive start-up packages, are important for sustained recruitment and attraction of qualified diverse faculty who can support educational and research activities. Such initiatives can also address current needs for teaching faculty.

• Tactic 2: Retention and development of the existing pool of talents.

o Review compensation and benefits package to ensure its competitiveness with other similar institutions in geographical proximity.

o Formal recognition of the achievements of NYMC faculty and their institutional service

(e.g., merit award, Dean’s award).

o Ensure that faculty time and effort are reasonable and consistent with respect to College and Department expectations for their percent research, teaching and service.

o Provide teaching/administrative support for faculty who also have active research.

o Ensure that faculty development opportunities are based on the faculty needs and are provided in consultation with the faculty.

o Promotion of the Educator Pathway.

o Development and implementation of policies to advance retention of high-quality faculty members.

• Tactic 3: Provide mentorship, training and faculty development opportunities for incoming and existing graduate faculty members.

o Development of an effective on-boarding process and mentorship for new faculty, including discussions of criteria for promotion and tenure, benefits, use of core facilities and training for submissions of applications and grants.

o Development of workshops and other training opportunities for faculty on efficient and culturally aware mentoring.

• Tactic 4: Expansion of collaborations with adjunct faculty.

o Explore the use of clinical faculty external instructors or adjunct faculty with specialized expertise through collaborations with faculty from one of the other NYMC or Touro University schools.

Rationale: Adjunct faculty can assist in covering any gaps in teaching demand. For example, many adjunct faculty members participate in teaching activities in CLS program to satisfy NAACLS requirement for faculty with clinical expertise, which is not always available in graduate faculty

o Development of an official policy on employment and practices of adjunct faculty and develop processes to better integrate such faculty into NYMC resources (e.g., access to teaching platforms).

Subgoal 4: Development of metrics necessary to be competitive in grant applications.

• Tactic 1: Exploration of new sources of revenue for available scholarships.

o Development of metrics necessary to be competitive in applications for training grants.

o Establishment of an Office for GSBMS alumni to enhance alumni data collection to provide data on alumni success for grant preparation.

o Exploration of new sources of funding to enhance recruitment by decreasing the overall

debt to students by providing increased scholarship money, with specific focus on fundraising and alumni outreach.

o Attain national funding to support students from groups who are underrepresented in science and research, and in health care professions.

o In collaboration with the Office of Research Administration and Office of Student Affairs to enhance student funding through grants.

GOAL 3: STRENGTHENING OF GRADUATE STUDENT SUPPORT

Strategic Objective: To address the long-range goals of the national research enterprise and to provide graduate students with greater breadth of expertise, research skills, career guidance and professional development to allow them to thrive in the ever-changing workforce serving the 21st century biomedical science and to support the GSBMS mission “to educate biomedical scientists and to prepare them for careers as researchers, teachers, innovators and leaders.” This will enhance student training for transition in education. For example, from trainee to independent investigator; post-doctoral fellow to faculty or industry scientist; Master's student to a career path specialty.

Subgoal 1: Enhancement of efforts related to career guidance and professional development for graduate students.

• Tactic 1: Establishment of support for graduate students in career advisement services to include career development, career preparation and placement.

o Development of an avenue for Ph.D. students to undertake short-term internships at pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies in our geographic area.

Rationale: This would be an excellent mechanism for students to gain an appreciation of job and career opportunities at such companies, as well as provide important networking connections.

o Continue GSBMS participation in the New York Academy of Science’s Science Alliance for Graduate Students and postdoctoral fellows and strongly encourage participation of our students and fellows in the various programs, conferences and workshops offered under the Science Alliance umbrella.

Rationale: This consortium can offer more frequent and varied programming in the areas of career exploration and professional development than we can as an individual institution.

o Re-establishment of GSBMS efforts to provide workshops and seminars dealing with career exploration and professional development, types of resources to search for grant

and fellowship opportunities, grant and fellowship preparation training.

o Explore development of a formal GSBMS course in pedagogy, open to graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty to enhance their teaching skills.

o Expansion of writing and communication skills improvement programs. Enhance advertisement of available resources, such as Writing Center and programs offered by the Health Science Library.

• Tactic 2: Making available tools for student education.

o Provide students with access to software tools for educational purposes, research data analyses and manuscript preparation.

o Provide software training seminars and workshops to all students to maximize the usage of such tools.

o Improved advertisement of software currently available to faculty and students. Creation of centralized portal with software available to the NYMC community.

o Implementation of efficient Information Technology (IT) infrastructure.

• Tactic 3: Strengthen avenues to constructively assess programs on a periodic basis to ensure that programs remain competitive and meaningful to students.

o Develop a database of student career outcomes following graduation for approximately three to five years as part of program assessment and career development initiatives. Such database can be maintained by an Office for GSBSM alumni (Goal 2.4.1) and Program Effectiveness Committee (Goal 2.1.4).

o Assure regular collection of data for evaluation of overall student satisfaction with the programs.

Subgoal 2: Strengthening of support to international students.

• Tactic 1: Enhancement of the Office of International Students.

o Create a position of an Advisor for Graduate International Students who will oversee recruitment, onboarding and accommodations of graduate international students and visiting scholars. A graduate student representative can assist with this initiative. Such initiative can be developed in collaboration with SHSP.

Rationale: Such services will provide international students and visiting scholars with academic and social support services and advisement aimed at assisting integration.

Subgoal 3: Enhancement of student mental health and wellness support.

• Tactic 1: Strengthening of centralized crisis management infrastructure and proactive counseling services (in collaboration with the Student Mental Health and Wellness office).

o Education and training to students, faculty (in particular, faculty who mentor graduate students), and staff about mental wellness and the signs of mental health conditions, self-harm and suicide risk.

o Development of protocols on how to recognize and manage mental health issues, including mental health crisis management.

o Implementation of anonymous contact method for reporting, tracking and monitoring of mental health crisis.

o Promote availability of free Teladoc service for mental health support for students and postdoctoral fellows.

Subgoal 4: Develop initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion.

• Tactic 1: Continue ensuring inclusive and welcoming environment to students from diverse ethnic, geographic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds (in collaboration with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion).

o Continue assuring best practices for recruitment and retention of diverse students and faculty into the graduate programs.

o Organize seminars and workshops to provide educational opportunities and promote awareness regarding the diversity and inclusion for existing students and faculty.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Metrics and assessment methods to evaluate achievement of the goals defined above are as follows:

• Metrics of faculty success

o rate of securing intramural and extramural funding

o return on investment

o publication rate

o patent approvals

• Rates of recruitment of new faculty and retention of existing faculty

• Rate of applications and admissions to NYMC GSBMS programs

• Assessment of student learning opportunities and program success

• Formalized assessment of educational outcomes with enhanced alumni outreach (e.g., engage graduates with the current students)

o Master’s students: placement into jobs (research, pharmaceutical administration/sales), acceptance into professional academic programs [medical school, dental school, physician assistant programs], graduation rate).

o Doctoral students: placement into post-doctoral position, pharmaceutical administration, research positions, acceptance into professional academic programs such as medicine, and placement into jobs such as scientific writers.

FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

• With respect to enhancement of funding opportunities for faculty and students (Goals 1.1.1. and 1.2.3), GSBMS should collaborate with SOM and the Office of Research Administration to enhance administrative support services and remove structural barriers that impede new and ongoing funded research:

o Assure maintenance and updates of internal application forms, with accessibility and continuity of applications across NYMC website and Mentor platform.

o Adoption of effective accounts payable processes (e.g., streamlining of purchasing), to prevent unnecessary setbacks and delays in research studies.

o Establishment of Intellectual Property Office or re-establishment of the Faculty Committee on Intellectual Property to protect the rights of investigators.

• With respect to enhancement of graduate research programs (Goal 1), GSBMS should collaborate with SOM and the Office of Research Administration on enhancement of core facilities, shared instrument infrastructure and management:

o Identification of core facilities needs and potential creation of new core facilities to become a leading researching enterprise in the 21st century.

o Establishment of an institutional review and audit process of the core facilities to evaluate their practices and identify strengths and weaknesses.

o Evaluation of avenues and resources to strengthen large scale data collection and analysis particularly in relation to translational research and patient samples. This includes but is not limited to bioinformatic support/pipelines, genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analyses.

o Establishment of dedicated position(s) to satisfy the needs of the existing and suggested cores, for example, to enhance bioinformatics, large scale genomics, transcriptomic and proteomic analysis.

o Streamlining procedures for capital equipment requests submissions, dissemination of out-of-date instruments.

o Establishment of small equipment grant program.

o Shared instrumentation proposals should be vetted each year to identify the most important core equipment needs to present the strongest application for funding for a NIH Proposal (due in May of each year).

• With respect to implementation of dual-degree programs (Goal 2.1.1.), GSBMS may be able to develop a continuing biomedical science education (CBMSE) platform for practicing physician-scientists with emphasis on integration of basic science with clinical and

translational science

• Continue to improve community outreach activities for the purpose of enhancing the image of the GSBMS and NYMC in the Westchester – Lower Hudson Valley community and for complementing GSBMS recruiting efforts (Goal 2.1.3.).