UAMS Program Paves Way for Minority Student’s Success
| Chase Swinton, a young African American woman who just graduated from Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood and will begin attending Stanford University in California in September, had never seen a black doctor – researcher or physician – until she came to UAMS.
“I’ve known I wanted to be a doctor for a while, but I’d never seen one before, so to see proof that it’s possible was important,” she said. “The road may be tough, it may be long, but it helps to know you can get there.”
Chase Swinton
Getting there for Swinton meant participation in the UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs Summer Research Internship (SRI) program during both her junior and senior years in high school. During the program, she conducted extensive, graduate-level research in UAMS labs and wrote up her findings in formal research paper. While doing so, she worked alongside other SRI participants, UAMS graduate students and a faculty mentor, including those of color who offered advice from their own experiences.
“They told me here’s what you need to know, here’s how you take care of yourself, here’s how you stay psychologically healthy and stay in the STEM [science, technology, engineering, math] pipeline,” she said. “To have someone I could ask questions of and have conversations with about race and discrimination, things I may not have felt comfortable asking of another mentor, that experience was unparalleled for me.”
By design, the SRI program reaches out to underserved student populations, including those defined by socioeconomic, racial or ethnic background. Over eight weeks each year during the summer, high school and undergraduate students in the program spend time in labs exploring science and conducting experiments, ending with a final presentation of their findings.
Swinton’s research investigated the effects of deep space oxygen radiation on behavior and cognition using mice. Her work during her junior year won her an invitation to present her findings at a conference at Harvard University last fall.
With a grandmother who had Alzheimer’s, she was interested in a career studying neuroscience and neurodegenerative diseases, but she came to her SRI topic by “happenstance.”
“I had no working understanding of deep space radiation or radiation at all, but it was a really interesting experience for me learning about it – and something I never would have considered on my own,” she said.
She settled on the topic after discussions with faculty mentor Antiño Allen, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UAMS College of Pharmacy Division of Radiation Health and the director of the SRI program.
“We have researchers from all over UAMS who participate in this as mentors. So it’s an opportunity for us to bring in not just the basic science people, but also very niche researchers,” Allen said.
Swinton said she’s grateful for that guidance and directly credits Allen and her time in SRI with helping her gain admission to Stanford.
“Stanford seemed like a lottery ticket; if you get in, you have to go,” she said. “When I applied, it was a shot in the dark. But having research experience, having Dr. Allen back me up, that helped.”
She plans to study human biology with concentrations in neurobiology and health economics policy.
Importantly, she also plans to be a voice for others like her.
“A lot of time these students have an interest but are not encouraged to pursue scientific fields. Or they are encouraged, but when things get difficult there’s no support or resources,” she said. “We really have to pay attention and make sure they’re supported and understood.”
Swinton is self-aware of her accomplishments and, even though she’s still early in her academic career, aware of her role in continuing to make sure other students get opportunities – just as SRI did for her.
“It was definitely empowering to be able to talk to researchers who look like me,” she said.