WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The UNCFMERCK Science Initiative (UMSI)a partnership of UNCF (the United Negro College Fund) and global health care industry leader Merck--today announced that it would award scholarships and fellowships to 37 of the countrys most accomplished and promising African-American undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students of biological science and engineering.

The new Merck Fellows, the 18th class to be selected under the long-running program, have studied at elite private colleges, flagship state universities and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). They all have stellar academic records and visionary aspirations. A University of Pennsylvania graduate student wants to trace the causes of neurological disorders. A graduate of UNCF member HBCU Tougaloo University is now pursuing M.D. and Ph.D. degrees to study the immune systems role in the creation of tumors. And a senior biology major at the University of Alabama-Birmingham wants to study neurology and conduct research into epilepsy and other neurodegenerative diseases.

By supporting the UNCFMERCK Science Initiative, Merck is investing in the next generation of biological science and technology researchers and scholars that we need to be competitive in the 21st century, said UNCF president and CEO Michael L. Lomax, PhD. The UNCFMERCK Fellows need to invest as well, by mentoring and preparing the generation that comes after them. They must also be passionate advocates for a strong pre-college STEM curriculum and strong science and math teachers to introduce young people to STEM.

Merck is proud of our long-standing partnership with UNCF, said Kenneth C. Frazier, Merck Chairman and CEO. As a leading healthcare company deeply committed to innovative R&D, we need to tap into the full range of talent and ideas available. This important initiative helps ensure that outstanding African-American students can play a key role in addressing the significant and growing medical need here in the U.S. and around the world.

Now in its eighteenth year, UMSI is a twenty-year partnership that has supported 663 scholarships and fellowships to 626 promising undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral science students pursuing careers in biomedical research. UMSI also leverages the UNCF-Merck partnership and the talent of UNCFMERCK Fellows to attract students to STEM subjects--Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematicsas early as elementary school to increase the pipeline of qualified African-American STEM students and cultivate minority leadership in the fields that will dominate job growth for the next generation. UNCF member institutions in particular have a strong commitment to this effort, awarding 16 percent of their degrees in STEM disciplines compared to 12 percent for all four- year institutions nationally.

With the U.S. on track to become a majority-minority society, UMSI aims to increase the number of African- American undergraduates studying in STEM disciplines to ensure the country has the leaders it needs in these fields to be competitive in the 21st century economy. American undergraduate students tend to select natural science and engineering (NS&E) disciplines as their primary field of study at considerably lower rates than their counterparts in other countries, according to the National Science Boards Science and Engineering Indicators 2012. Even though the numbers of African-Americans in the biological sciences is less than 5%, the UMSI attracts more than 90% of African Americans pursuing advanced degrees in biolife sciences.

Merck and UNCF began UMSI in 1995 with a ten-year, $20 million grant from the Merck Foundation and Merck Research Laboratories. The project was extended in 2006 with an additional $13 million grant and again in 2011 with an additional investment of $13.3 million over five years.

The 2013 UNCFMERCK Fellows receive awards ranging from $25,000 for undergraduate scholarship recipients to $92,000 for recipients of postdoctoral fellowships. In addition, the programs alumni have organized the Association of Underrepresented Minority Fellows to facilitate continued professional growth. This network allows UNCFMERCK Fellows to collaborate in academia, government and the private sector to leverage their wealth of scientific, technical and biomedical knowledge and experience.

Support from the UNCFMERCK Science Initiative scholarships targets students entering their final undergraduate year, graduate students in their final two-to-three years of dissertation research, and postdoctoral Fellows continuing their research training. African-American students in the life, physical and engineering sciences at American four-year colleges and universities are eligible to apply for the scholarship. In addition to scholarships and fellowships, the UNCFMERCK awards may include funding for the science departments at the colleges and universities they attend. Undergraduate Fellows receive summer research internships at Merck Research Laboratories, where each Fellow is paired with a Merck mentor who provides valuable research assistance, guidance and support.

See the original post:
37 African-American Students Awarded Prestigious UNCF•Merck Science Initiative Scholarships and Fellowships in ...