Deadline: May 30, 2025

The Association of STEMM Pathway and Bridge Programs (ASPBP) is pleased to announce the call for presentation abstracts for the ASPBP Conference to be held virtually on the Remo digital platform from October 7-9, 2025. The ASPBP Conference provides opportunities to connect with and learn from others, and will provide you with new teaching techniques, ideas and resources.

This year abstract proposals should fit into one of four formats:

• Member-Created Panel Submission
• Research Poster Presentations
• Programs/Highlights/Innovations
• Roundtable Guided Problem-Solving Session
• Individual Panelist Application Form
  (note: this will take you to an external site)

We will also be offering panel discussions in both traditional and non-traditional formats. If you have interest in participating in a panel discussion but do not have a panel in which to participate, please click HERE to learn more and apply as an individual panelist!

Due to the virtual format, we encourage you to research innovative ways to virtually engage participants. Collaborative submissions are encouraged!

All abstract submissions will undergo peer review using the following criteria: clarity of the proposal, the quality of content in the proposal, and interest to the ASPBP community. Potential presenters are encouraged to illustrate the innovative nature and/or timeliness of the content to be presented.

Abstract submission deadline: May 30, 2025 (11:59pm Eastern)
Author notifications will be sent in August

Please click here to submit your abstract.

Thank you,
ASPBP

Submit Your Abstract Here

ASPBP will host an informational session on "Pathway Grant Letter of Intent and Application," and will take place on Monday, April 14, 2025, at 12:00 PM EDT. 

Joanne King, with NBME, along with the ASPBP Research and Scholarship Committee, will be presenting on the upcoming Request for Grant Applications.

For more information on this funding opportunity, click here.

Monday, April 14, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
To register for the Zoom session, click here.

Register for this Zoom Session!

NBME has a long history of contributing to the medical education and assessment communities with the goal of improving patient care through quality assessment of medical professionals. To further build on our contributions and our commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the medical and assessment professions, we are providing resources to assist programs and building collaborations that aid learners with education, mentorship and resources at a crucial time in their development. We hope to help programs develop and utilize best practices to drive positive changes in medical education in the long term and support the Association of STEMM Bridge and Pathway Programs (ASPBP) in developing a pathway program community of practice. To that end, in 2024, NBME collaborated with ASPBP to establish 13 grants totaling $350,000 to institutions and other nonprofit organizations implementing pathway programs. 

As we continue our support of pathways to medicine, NBME and ASPBP are initiating another call for applications in 2025 to continue to investigate the effectiveness of strategies that increase the representation of individuals in the medical profession. These grants are intended to support pathway programs across the entire educational continuum. Community-based, elementary to high school and higher education programs are invited to submit applications that focus on evaluating the evidence for success of a particular educational or programmatic intervention strategy. 

There are two different funding opportunities: 

• SEED Grants: One-time grants of up to $20,000 for programs wanting to develop the foundation for rational design of an intervention strategy or strategies.
• Material and Resource Grants: One-time grants of up to $55,000 for programs wanting to improve their curriculum with needed educational resources such as learning management software, student data management software, educational or learning software.

Eligibility to apply includes not-for-profit organizations and programs or their fiscal sponsors and not-for-profit institutions. 

Initial letters of intent are due by April 28, 2025. After reviewing Letters of Intent, NBME will invite full proposals in early July. Full proposal applications are due by July 21, 2025.

Interested applicants can learn more about the requirements and how to apply at https://www.nbme.org/contributions/pathway-program-grants. 

NBME contributes to the medical education and assessment communities with the goal of improving patient care through quality assessment of medical professionals, supporting the development of a diverse and compassionate health care workforce. To achieve this goal, NBME – in collaboration with the Association of STEMM Pathway and Bridge Programs (ASPBP) – awarded a total of $350,000 in grants to programs that investigate the effectiveness of strategies that increase the representation of individuals in the medical profession.

By providing resources to assist programs and building collaborations that aid learners with education, mentorship and resources at a crucial time in their development, we hope to help programs develop and utilize best practices to drive positive changes in medical education in the long term and support ASPBP in developing a pathway program community of practice.

These grants support pathway programs across the entire educational continuum. Community-based, elementary to high school and higher education programs were invited to submit applications that focus on evaluating the evidence for success of a particular educational or programmatic intervention strategy. NBME plans to announce the 2025 grant cycle in March.

The awarded grants are listed below and include multi-year grants ranging from $25,000 - $100,000- and single-year grants for $20,000 and $5,000 respectively.

Multi-Year Grant - $100,000 per year for three years

• University of California San Diego School of Medicine

Multi-Year Grant - $50,000 per year for three years

• University of Washington School of Medicine's Center for Workforce Inclusion and Healthcare System Equity (WIHSE)

Multi-Year Grant - $25,000 per year for three years

• University of South Carolina School of Medicine
• Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University

Seed Grants - $20,000

• Central Michigan University College of Medicine
• Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM)
  
• Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine and Bound Together
  

• Long School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

• National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians

• Arkansas Colleges of Health Education

• UMass Chan Medical School - Lahey Hospital and Medical Center

Material and Resource Grants - $5,000

• Health Professional Student Association
• Texas A&M University Health Science Center

ASPBP Community Planning Session Available
During Wednesday's Meeting

ASPBP will have its General Members Meeting on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at 2:00 PM EST.

The purpose of this session is to hear from you, our ASPBP community, about any shifts or challenges happening with your programs this year. We will make space for you to share what you're experiencing, and allow time to workshop collaborative strategies for supporting one another.

To view the meeting agenda, click here.

To join the meeting on Wednesday, click here.
Meeting ID: 827 4899 3465
Passcode: 116376

Share With Us! Deadline is Friday, December 20

We publish our ASPBP Wire newsletter twice a year, in January and July or August. One popular section of the newsletter is our Kudos section, where we highlight special awards, promotions, and recently published articles of our members.

As we prepare for the next issue, we would appreciate your contributions. If you have any noteworthy achievements or publications you’d like to share, please submit the information using this form.

Deadline: Friday, December 20, 2024

Submit Your Kudos for PBP Wire!

Nominations for several officer positions and committee chairs were sought from the general membership. The ballot for those leadership positions were sent to the ASPBP membership on August 21, and the ballot closed September 20. Their terms commenced immediately following the conference in October this year. It is our pleasure to announce to you the results of this election.

• Peter Vollbrecht, President-Elect
• Joshua Costin, Annual Conference Chair
• Brianne Lewis, Membership and Internal Communications Chair
• Courisse Knight, Public Relations and Advocacy Chair
• Ingrid Bahner, Research and Scholarship Chair
• Vicky Rhine, Western Region Representative
• Gerica Lee, Central Region Representative
• Nishika Edwards, Southern Region Representative
• Luckson Omoaregba, Northeastern Region Representative

Please join us in congratulating the new members of ASPBP leadership and in thanking our previous leaders who are stepping down from office for their past and ongoing dedication and service.

Make a Difference!
Apply for the 2025 ASPBP Program Committee Today!

The time has come to begin planning for the ASPBP 2025 Annual Conference! We are pleased to announce openings for multiple new members to join the ASPBP Conference Program Committee. This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to our annual gathering of the membership. Did you enjoy the conference, but have some ideas to improve it? Maybe you are great at logistics and would like to lend a helping hand? More than just a line on a CV for promotion, involvement in this committee is very collaborative and offers members a way to make a true impact. Please join us!

Position Overview:

• Committee Role: ASPBP Conference Committee member
• Open to new members: No ASPBP experience required
• Time commitment: One hour meeting per month, or possibly week, with deliverables due

Key Responsibilities:

• Participate in regular committee meetings
• Work collaboratively with committee members
• Take lead on an aspect of conference planning
• Meet deadlines for the planning schedule
• Bring new ideas for group consideration and discussion
• Ready accessibility by email from January 2025 through the program in October 2025

For the committee, we are seeking a broad representation of professional educators, from K-12 to undergraduate and graduate programs. The names of participating ASPBP members will be credited in the conference program.

Application Process:

If you would like to be considered for a position on the Program Committee, please complete this form by November 30, 2024, so we can begin our meetings in January 2025. 

We hope that you will consider becoming involved in this important and collegial work. For additional information or questions, please contact support@aspbp.org. 

Thank you
Joshua Costin
2025 ASPBP Annual Program Committee Chair

Volunteer for 2025 ASPBP Program Committee!

Cast Your Vote on the ASPBP Bylaw Amendments!

The ASPBP Bylaws Committee submitted their suggestions for changes to the general council for approval a few weeks ago. To aid you in reviewing the suggested bylaws changes, we have created a summary list of the proposed amendments below:

• Change of vision statement to be more inclusive (amendment 1)
• Changes to correct bylaws language (amendment 2)
• Better define roles
  - President (amendment 3)
  - Secretary (amendment 5)
• Creation of Vice Chairs to better help with transition (amendment 6)
• Clarification of the nomination and election timeline with dates to make for smooth transition (amendment 8)
• Clarification of term limits (amendment 9)
• Clarification of how vacancies on general council will be addressed to ensure continuity (amendment 10)
• Removal of officers and reasons for removal (amendment 11)
• Clarification for how the nominating committee will be formed to allow for a smooth election and transition (amendment 12)
• Membership and Internal Communications name change to Membership and Member Programming Committee (amendment 13)
• Clarifying language for past-president by calling them the current past-president (amendment 16)
• Clarification of language, removal of redundant language (amendment 2 and 15)
  - Changes to correct bylaws language referring to our goal (amendment 2)
  - Removal of redundant language (amendment 15)
  - Removal of language about how we notify about the next conference (amendment 17)

To view the existing ASPBP Bylaws, click here.

To vote on the proposed bylaw amendments, click here.

The deadline to vote on the ASPBP Bylaw Amendments is November 18, 2024!

Vote on Proposed ASPBP Bylaw Amendments

ASPBP is excited to continue the series "Tips & Tricks for Successful Pathway and Bridge Programs" in the upcoming issue of PBP Wire (January/February 2025 Vol. 7). We want to hear your tips and tricks for running successful programs and are excited to announce the call for short article abstract submissions. 

These articles should offer practical and feasible advice for improving the recruitment of students to and/or participation in programming, ways to increase pre-matriculation competencies of students, or ways to improve teaching and learning.  Programs should target one of the following populations- K-12 outreach and enrichment, undergraduate engagement, or post-baccalaureate programs. Articles should be brief- a maximum of 800 words, not counting your abstract, references, and acknowledgments. Captions count towards the word limit. Articles are limited to a maximum combined three figures/tables, as our goal is to limit the article to two and a half pages.     
Interested authors should submit a 200-word abstract discussing their proposed article by Thursday, October 31, 2024. Abstract submissions can be made on the member portal here. Individuals will be notified in mid-May of their selection. Only members who are up-to-date on their dues are eligible to submit.

Join or Renew Your Membership Today!

Criteria for Abstract Selection

• Relevance to the ASPBP community
• Mission fit with regards to ASPBP
• Focused on improving recruitment of students or participation in programming, increasing pre-matriculation competencies of students, or improving teaching and learning within PBP (K-12, undergraduate, or post-baccalaureate programs)
• Tips and tricks are innovative, engaging, or push forward the ASPBP community
• Tips and tricks are feasible and can be replicated
• Tips and tricks are clearly presented and easy to follow

Schedule

• Mid-October - abstract submission opens
• October 31st - submission closes
• Mid-November - individuals will be notified. (Note, only paid members are eligible to submit! Join here: https://aspbp.wildapricot.org/join-us/)
• December 15th - full submissions due
• December 20th - submissions will be returned with comments
• Late January/early February - article will be published in PBP Wire

Additional information for article submission

• Word or Google Doc
• Document format-double-spaced 11 pt. Times New Roman, including line numbers
• Figures and tables should be listed at the end of the document, but indicate within the article where you would like them to be placed
• Document Structure
  • Title page with author name and affiliation
  • Abstract and keywords (3-5)
  • Article with brief introduction, body, and conclusion. Please include lessons learned and how this may help others
  • Abbreviations
  • Acknowledgments
  • References (APA)
  • Conflict of interest statement
• Figure and table format-Initially the figures can be PDF, but final submissions should be in TIFF grayscale or the RGB color mode or PNF. 300 dpi. Please use accessible colors. Tables must be saved as a picture. Website links- All URL Addresses in the text should be accessible by click
• Any work that includes human data must have an IRB approval or a Not for Human Research designation
• Bio- All individuals published will be asked to submit a 100-word bio that will be published on the ASPBP site

For more information about this opportunity please feel free to reach out to support@aspbp.org

Become Part of the Future of STEMM Education