Starting in fall 2024, Stephens College, a liberal arts educational institution for women in Columbia, Missouri, will partner with the neighboring University of Missouri to create Women in STEM Research at Stephens College, a biomedical research program for Stephens undergraduates, especially those interested in equine veterinary health careers. The partnership aims to create a pipeline of future female clinical, research, and biotechnology professionals. One specific goal is to help alleviate the current equine veterinarian shortage.
Each year, a cohort of up to 10 first-year students at Stephens College will start a curriculum in which they take classes together and collaborate on research projects as they progress through the four-year program. Members of each cohort will live in a dedicated dorm space to increase interactions, comradery, and peer support. The initial classroom curriculum involves fundamental research topics such as logic, experimental design, statistics, analytics, persuasive communication, quantification, numeracy, and science communication.
In the following years, the student will use the horses at Stephens College stables as a living laboratory for hands-on research projects that involve collecting samples and collaborating with the University of Missouri’s equine veterinary experts, who will give guest lectures and expose the students to various career paths in research and equine veterinary medicine.
“We created this program for women who can leverage their skills and are interested in research-focused careers, whether they go on to pursue veterinarian school, medical school, graduate school, the biotech industry or pharmaceutical industry,” said Brandon Moore, an associate professor at Stephens College who is leading the project. “The program will benefit all stakeholders involved. The students will learn valuable skills, gain hands-on experience and, in turn, become more competitive in the job market after graduation. The faculty at both Stephens College and MU will benefit from the student support on equine research projects and advancements in scientific discovery. It’s also a practical win for the health and well-being of the horses.”