OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Associate Professor, Lisa K. Marriott, Ph.D., is Oregon’s only recipient of the 2022 National Institutes of Health (NIH) award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Mentorship. This award supplements her lab’s ongoing work to enhance training for a diverse scientific workforce.
Marriott’s work aims to help students who are interested in biomedical sciences see themselves as scientists and develop the persistence they’ll need to succeed. Her lab builds research and training tools for international use, including informatics-based data collection platforms, training websites, and supportive approaches for engaging students from middle school through graduate levels.
Marriott is the principal investigator of OHSU’s NIH-funded Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) and leads research studies examining biomedical workforce development. With collaborators at OHSU, Portland State University and the Portland Metro STEM Partnership, her lab is building the STEM Assessment and Reporting Tracker, or START, to help schools and programs measure the science development of their students. The project was initially funded in 2018 (R25GM129840) and provides immediate e-feedback to students aimed at building their science identity and persistence.
This one-year NIH DEIA award serves as supplemental funding to Marriott’s SEPA grant to develop professional portfolio mentoring for trainees across programs and build data collection structures that enhance long-term outcomes research. It also supports trainees in the lab working on projects that enhance biomedical workforce development, such as inclusive demographics in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), strengths-based strategies for impulsivity and neurodiversity in STEM, motivational resilience strategies for Pacific Islander students, START user testing, and qualitative methods training in photovoice. Marriott’s publications and training resources are shared on her lab’s website.
Marriott is also a co-Investigator of other NIH-funded training programs, such as the Knight Scholars Program (R25CA221741) through the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and BUILD EXITO (UL1GM118964) through Portland State University. With the pandemic, activities and student supports flexed to be mindful of students’ social determinants of health, including unexpected stressors, caregiving responsibilities, and extenuating life circumstances. Marriott praises the admirable resilience and accomplishments of trainees in the face of challenges from the pandemic. Current lab trainees have received multiple scholarships and training awards, including a NSF fellowship, CDC-funded internships, and graduate school acceptances—in addition to juggling school, life, and research.
Marriott credits SEPA and OHSU programs (Paths to Leadership and Mentorship Academy) as the backbone of her successful mentorship program. Marriott has mentored 14 students in her lab’s research and co-built a Leadership Training Program in Research Mentoring that convenes interprofessional near-peer mentoring teams who work with students in biomedical training programs. Marriott has received multiple awards for her teaching and mentoring, with ongoing work supporting assessment and evaluation activities within biomedical research.
