A University of Arkansas at Little Rock student has been accepted into the highly competitive University of Nebraska-Lincoln Undergraduate Summer Research Minority Health Disparities Initiative.

Roza Bost, of Pine Bluff, will attend the 10-week program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, which includes a $5,000 stipend, travel expenses, and room and board.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to take on this new adventure,” said Bost, a senior majoring in speech communication.

Bost said she has learned concepts and research in the speech communication department that has prepared her for this new experience. Part of the training for the summer research program includes approaches to network science and social-network analysis.

Bost will be working with leading communication studies scholar, Dr. Jordan Soliz, among other faculty in the program, to assist with research projects to better understand and reduce minority health disparities.

Soliz, associate professor of communication at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is currently editor of “Journal of Family Communication.” He is also a core faculty member of the Minority Health Disparities Initiative. Soliz’s research focuses on ethnic-racial identity and mental health and wellbeing.  

The Nebraska Summer Research Program offers undergraduate students the opportunity to participate in nationally funded research groups across multiple disciplines.

The program provides a firsthand glimpse into life as a graduate student. Students are selected to work closely with a specific faculty mentor and their team of researchers throughout the summer.

For more information about the summer research program, visit the website.