The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced competitive renewal of the South Texas Doctoral Bridge program for another five years.

The $1.5 million grant award is a partnership between Texas State University and University of Texas Health San Antonio.

The South Texas Doctoral Bridge program is an initiative to provide master’s level students with the necessary research training and academic preparation to facilitate their successful transition into top tier research-intensive Ph.D. programs in the nation.

UT Health San Antonio is the lead institution of the NIH program, which promotes the participation of individuals from underrepresented groups in the pursuit of advanced degrees in biomedical research. It is one of only 11 such programs in the U.S., and the only one in Texas.

“The South Texas Doctoral Bridge Program can and has changed the trajectory of the lives of the participants in the program,” said Babatunde Oyajobi, professor and deputy chair for education and training at UT Health San Antonio, and the principal investigator for the NIH program. “As students at Texas State University, these young scholars enter the program unprepared for the rigors of a scientific career, and after a mere two years of training they leave equipped with the skills and competencies necessary to take on new scientific frontiers.”

Read the full article in the San Marcos Corridor News.