Program Description

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Minority International Research Training MHIRT) program is a carefully structured activity that takes a group of selected students to research sites abroad to participate in on-going research programs in natural products and environmental health. Three sites have been established for this program on the continent of Africa: the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Egerton University in Njoro, Kenya, and University of Benin in Benin City, Nigeria.

The students engage in scientific research in an environment that promotes different ways of thinking, expands the concept of teamwork, provides exposure to new and unique areas of research, and promotes global cooperation in science.

The participants receive an intensive summer research experience working with materials and in an environment quite different from what they are used to in the United States. New research skills are developed and linkages are established that will no doubt lead to future collaborations in scientific research.

The skills, knowledge, and experience gained will serve as an important stimulus for future work in these and related biomedical science areas. Indeed, it is hoped that the experience will provide a platform for the discovery of new career paths. To date, 91 students and faculty have participated in this program.

The activity begins with an early search for interested students in the fall term when applications are disseminated and announcements are made. The selection process is carried out in early spring. Applicants are carefully screened to make sure that they meet the minimum requirements established by NIH and Hampton University. Other selection criteria put into consideration personal interests, motivation, future career goals, and willingness to spend practically all summer in Africa. The selected students and faculty attend a two-day pre-departure orientation workshop at Hampton University. This workshop is crucial especially for students who have never traveled abroad before. Workshop sessions discuss the objectives of the program, cultural issues, language, food, health needs and requirements. A few alumni of the program are invited to the workshop to share their experiences.

Upon arrival at the research sites abroad, the participants engage in a two-day on-site orientation to introduce them to local language, culture, educational, political, and historical issues. The participants are then assigned to research teams, often consisting of two-to-three local graduate students and faculty members. Field trips are taken as needed to collect research materials as well as conduct pertinent case studies.

The students' research in natural products typically involves a plant part: root, stem bark, or seeds, which they carry through an established protocol to isolate chemical compounds. Students learn a variety of techniques and protocols commonly used in natural products laboratory work, including the processing of a natural product materials for experimentation, separation of crude materials, isolation of compounds from crude materials, chromatographic separations, spectroscopic characterization of isolated compounds, and basic tests for bioactivity using established bioactivity testing methods. Field trips allow students to learn plant taxonomy and how to select, and collect specimens for laboratory experimentation.

Environmental health projects are centered on assessment and protection of source water. The participants engage in research to provide a delineation of water sources, identifying their locations and characteristics, as well as identifying all pertinent factors that may bear on the quantity and quality of the water. Each delineated source is sampled and analyzed for chemical and microbiological content, including nutrients, heavy metals, pesticides, phosphates, fluoride, and fecal coliform. Focus is placed on fluoride content.

The experience abroad culminates in a presentation that each participant makes before a local audience. All participants are expected to prepare a final research report, which is submitted to the Project Director at Hampton.

During the first five years, only Hampton University students were recruited. In the past four years, recruitment has been done nation-wide. In addition to HU, five other HBCUs have been represented including Howard, Copin State, Bowie State, Lincoln, and Medgar Evers College. Other minority student participants have been recruited from Florida State, Georgia State, Emory University, University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Wisconsin, University of California at Palm Beach, University of California at San Francisco, University of Michigan, Purdue, Pomona College, New York University, and Hood College.

Click here for a list of Participants and Research Projects
Click here for the current application information