Overview
The SF BRIDGE program grants a unique opportunity for San Francisco State University (SFSU) students interested in becoming insider researchers to learn about health research, policy and advocacy from UCSF and SFSU faculty. Insider researchers are people who have lived experience with priority populations and who have community cultural wealth. Participants engage in hands-on learning using San Francisco as a living lab and engage in other real-life experiences.
This new and innovative program is funded by the UC Office of the President Tobacco and Vape Free Scholars Initiative.
Program Details
“We got next” is a clarion call used in basketball by newly arriving players to secure their entry into a domain dominated by others already in the game. As it relates to our program design, it is a clarion call for young scholars from priority populations to join the workforce and engage in tobacco control research, which, like other biomedical research domains, systemically excludes aspiring scholars due to ethnicity and race.
Fall 1: The fall of the SF BRIDGE program consists of enrollment in the “SF as a Living Lab” class at SFSU, followed by an application at the end of the course.
Spring 1: Interviews and educational enhancement activities take place in the spring.
Summer 1 (three months): In the summer, scholars enroll in an internship with educational material in clinical research, tobacco prevention and health policy. Scholars meet postdoctoral scholars and mentors at the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at the end of summer.
Fall 2 (four months): Fall Scholars choose a lab and engage in research in the fall for four months.
Spring 2 (four months): Scholars engage with community-based organizations in spring as part of the Health Policy Advocacy Institute. They develop factsheets for the community-based organization to use as part of advocacy for their clientele. Scholars go on to graduate school or other unique science-related opportunities at the end of the SF BRIDGE program.
To qualify for the SF BRIDGE program, a student must be a San Francisco State University student and have completed the ethnic studies course “SF as a Living Lab” by Rama Ali Kased, MS, EdD.
Please enroll in Rama Ali Kased’s Fall 2024 course “SF as a Living Lab.”
All scholars admitted to the SF BRIDGE program receive a stipend package. Stipends vary per student.
“We got next” is a clarion call used in basketball by newly arriving players to secure their entry into a domain dominated by others already in the game. As it relates to our program design, it is a clarion call for young scholars from priority populations to join the workforce and engage in tobacco control research, which, like other biomedical research domains, systemically excludes aspiring scholars due to ethnicity and race.
Fall 1: The fall of the SF BRIDGE program consists of enrollment in the “SF as a Living Lab” class at SFSU, followed by an application at the end of the course.
Spring 1: Interviews and educational enhancement activities take place in the spring.
Summer 1 (three months): In the summer, scholars enroll in an internship with educational material in clinical research, tobacco prevention and health policy. Scholars meet postdoctoral scholars and mentors at the Center for Tobacco Research and Education at the end of summer.
Fall 2 (four months): Fall Scholars choose a lab and engage in research in the fall for four months.
Spring 2 (four months): Scholars engage with community-based organizations in spring as part of the Health Policy Advocacy Institute. They develop factsheets for the community-based organization to use as part of advocacy for their clientele. Scholars go on to graduate school or other unique science-related opportunities at the end of the SF BRIDGE program.
To qualify for the SF BRIDGE program, a student must be a San Francisco State University student and have completed the ethnic studies course “SF as a Living Lab” by Rama Ali Kased, MS, EdD.
Please enroll in Rama Ali Kased’s Fall 2024 course “SF as a Living Lab.”
All scholars admitted to the SF BRIDGE program receive a stipend package. Stipends vary per student.
Program Team
- Rama Ali Kased, MS, EdD, Principal Investigator, SFSU
- Kala Mehta, DSc, MPH, Principal Investigator, UCSF
- Kelechi Uwaezuoke, Program Director, SFSU
- Pam Ling, MD, MPH, Senior Advisor and Mentor, UCSF
- Leticia Marquez-Magana, MS, PhD Senior Advisor, SFSU
- Kathleen Franklin, Postdoctoral Coordinator
- Maya Vijayaragavan, MD, MAS, Assistant Professor, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education
- Dorie Apollonio, PhD, MPP, Professor, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education
Please see the Center for Tobacco Research and Education website to learn more about these mentors.
Contact Us
For media inquiries or more information on the SF BRIDGE program, please contact:
- Kala M. Mehta, UCSF, [email protected]
- Adrienne Lazaro, SFSU, [email protected]