In a 30-year career researching highly specialized areas of neuroscience, Morgan State University biology professor Gloria Hoffman, Ph.D. has gained international acclaim as an expert and has broken new ground for the institution. Her recent efforts have positioned Morgan, the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution (JHMI) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to successfully finish year one of a five-year, $3.1 million grant to study how the brain regulates reproduction.
The Eunice Kennedy Krieger National Institute of Child Health and Development in August 2010 awarded the grant to fund the Cooperative Research Partnership to Promote Workforce Diversity in the Reproduction Sciences (CPDR) program. Undergraduate scholars from Morgan State University and JHMI are trained by scientists at both institutions and learn to use basic techniques in neuroanatomy, physiology, and molecular biology that fill gaps in the field.
Dr. Hoffman played a leading role in securing a share of the grant for Morgan. Morgan biology professor Michael Koban, Ph.D. brought an impressive record of integrative research and undergraduate involvement to the research team. Morgan’s selection was based on both the quality of the research and the ability to reach minority populations within the underrepresented field.
“The purpose of this program is that the NIH, while supporting a number of programs to bolster minority success, has no other program focusing on the reproductive sciences,” Dr. Hoffman explained. “Thus the goal is completely unique. Need for such a program stems from the poor representation of underrepresented minorities in this field.”
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