Future Deaf Scientists Program at Wilmot Cancer Institute

PROJECT SUMMARY /ABSTRACT People with disabilities – especially deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals – continue to be underrepresented in STEM graduate programs, health science professions, and research settings. The need to promote disability inclusion in the scientific workforce is a recognized priority of both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and

the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The high attrition rates of deaf undergraduate STEM majors, with an average of 83% dropping out of their programs before completion, are largely due to unwelcoming research environments, inadequate access services, and ill-equipped mentors. To address this issue, the University of

Rochester James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute (Wilmot) proposes the Future Deaf Scientists (FDS) program. This mentored research training initiative is based on a very successful summer internship program forged through a partnership between Wilmot and the Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD), a bilingual deaf

education institution established in 1876, where instruction is delivered in American Sign Language and English. The program aims to increase deaf students' participation in cancer research fields and improve the STEM mentoring environment for young deaf scientists. The FDS program includes cultural competency

training for mentors and American Sign Language interpreter training for advanced STEM content. The FDS program seeks to formalize a linguistically and culturally appropriate STEM and cancer research curriculum tailored to deaf high school students that can also be used by schools nationwide. The FDS program applies

an innovative and tailored approach that provides the necessary first step in growing the Deaf Scientist Training pipeline in Rochester, NY, and promoting cancer STEM efforts nationwide. Ultimately, participating Deaf students will learn skills and confidence that will empower them to succeed in postsecondary education

and STEM/cancer research careers.