ADMINISTRATIVE CORE

The Administrative Core provides administrative oversight of the other three cores and provides support to enhance faculty research competitiveness. It ensures that there is on-going communication with the NIH, implementation of the activities with input from external and internal evaluators, and recommendations for best practices.

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORE (IDC)

The goal of the Institutional Development Core is to enhance the academic infrastructure at Xavier. The Institutional Development Core provides resources for key offices and centers across the campus that assist students with academic support, professional development, and undergraduate research activities. Project Pathways has contributed to the addition of both personnel and support to the Student Academic Success Office (SASO), the Center for Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity (CURGO) and the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development (CAT+FD).

STUDENT TRAINING CORE (STC)

The Student Training Core expands the number of hands-on biomedical research opportunities offered to Xavier students. In close collaboration with the Career Advancement Center, this core also coordinates a number of activities designed to educate freshman and sophomore students about the variety of possible biomedical research careers they can pursue. The Student Training Core activities allow students to gradually increase their involvement in biomedical research, based on their level of interest. Both Freshmen and Sophomores are given opportunities to explore research labs at Xavier. The “Freshman Open House” allows Freshmen to visit different research labs, while Sophomores can apply to shadow a current research student on campus. Shadowing experiences allow students to observe day-to-day activities in a research environment. This core provides a continuous two-year research training opportunity to students selected as BUILD Scholars. The Scholars are selected at the end of their sophomore year and start their research projects in the summer before their junior year. In addition to the BUILD Scholars, a number of students are selected as BUILD Research Students to perform research on campus for a period of one year with potential for competitive renewal for a second year. 

RESEARCH ENRICHMENT CORE (REC)

The Research Enrichment Core strengthens the supportive environment needed for Xavier students to overcome barriers to success through curriculum enhancement, mentor training, and post-baccalaureate research training opportunities for recent graduates. Several new courses have been developed with support from this core including a technical writing course, a scientific communication skills course, and a research ethics course. The Research Enrichment Core also provides curriculum development mini-grants for faculty to develop new courses or modify existing courses in order to fill gaps in the biomedical curriculum at Xavier. A very innovative part of Project Pathways, the BUILD Technician Program, which provides recent Xavier graduates with additional training and research experience needed to successfully enter and complete graduate work is also supported by this core.