Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) at MEC is a program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The focus of this program is to increase underrepresented minority Ph.Ds. or M.D.-Ph.Ds. in the field of biomedical and behavioral sciences research. The program aims to increase the overall number of underrepresented students that complete a Ph.D. and continue biomedical research careers, thereby reducing the existing gap in completion of Ph.D. degrees between underrepresented and non-underrepresented students. NIGMS-RISE Program at Medgar Evers College supports sixteen students in a budget year.
Participants receive their 940 hours per year paid research training in a research laboratory at Medgar Evers College, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, School of Graduate Studies, and other host biomedical research labs under the overall supervision of a research active faculty. They are also required to participate summer research internships outside MEC.
RISE students participate in a number of enrichment activities, such as seminars, workshops, preparation for graduate school application, preparing personal statements and courses to ensure their academic success. Each RISE student receives one-to-one mentoring and academic advisement from their faculty, research mentors and program staff. The students attend 2-4 national and regional conferences and present results of their research either orally or as scientific posters.
So far, a total of 36 students including 16 current ones have participated in this program since the inception of the program (2014), 20 graduated and 12 have entered to graduate and professional schools including six in Ph.D., one DDS, one MD, one Pharm. D. and three in M.S. degree programs. Several students won awards for their research. Several students received summer internship experience in prestigious institutions including but not limited to, such as Columbia, NYU, Rockefeller, Johns Hopkins, NIH and Harvard.
The RISE program is managed by Drs. Mohsin Patwary (PI and the Director), Alam Nur-E-Kamal (Co-PI and Co-Director and Amulya Mohan (Program Administrator).
Summer internship at HARVARD (Summer 2018):
 |
 |
 |
MEC-RISE students Steven Lawrence (Mentor Dr. Carole Bolnet), Claythia Nicolas (mentor Dr. William Carr) and Line Nana-Mba (mentor Drs. Jean Michel (MEC) / Michael Juseph at DownState) are reciepients of 2018 summmer internships at Harvard.
Recipient of Awards during 2017-2018 Presentations:
UMBC:
- Moises Rodriguez 2nd Place
- Asuma Jalloh 1st Place
MACUB:
- Asuma Jalloh 2nd Place
ABRCMS:
- Jaleel Shepherd 1st Place
MEC-SSHT (13th Poster Competition):
- Moises Rodriguez: 1st Place
- Steven Lawrence 3rd Place
- Shellane Gill 4th Place
Success Transition of RISE students: Progression to Professional Programs:
| Program (current or acceptance ) | Name of Institution / Place | ||
| 1) | Akpara, Ogbonnaya N. | MS | Brooklyn College NY |
| 2) | Antoine-Mitchell, Alani | PhD | University of Pittsburgh PA |
| 3) | Urena, Tiburcio Daisy J. | MS (Forensic Sc.) | Pace University NYC, NY |
| 4) | Oluwadamilola, Lawal | PhD | Duke University NC |
| 5) | Livingston, Jhamelia K. | PhD | Wake Forest University NC |
| 6) | Orakwue, Zimuzoh K | PharmD | Shenandoah University School of Pharmacy, Winchester VA |
| 7) | Guzman, Lissette | MS data-science) | Virginia Tech VA |
| 8) | Dheveline, Louis | BS (nursing) | |
| 9) | Villiere, Sophia M. | Post-Bac | Ohio State University OH |
| 10) | Wilson, Jermaine | DDS | NYU Dental College NYC NY |
| 11) | Williams, Nicole B | PhD | CCNY-CUNY NYC NY |
| 12) | Fadamiro, Olamide A, | MD | Caribbean Med School Antigua WI |
| 13) | Olufeko, Oluwatobi T. | Ph.D | SUNY Stony Brook, NY. |
| 14) | Abrams, Crystal L | Research Technician | Brookhaven National Laboratory NY |
| 15) | Arora, Vimal | Post-bac | Univ. of Missouri MO |
| 16) | Burgos, Nadia | PhD | Univ. of Missouri MO |
| 17) | Casseus, Rose | Post-bac |