TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alex Salvador of Washington, D.C., conducted research at The University of Alabama as a member of the 2005 McNair Scholars class.

Salvador conducted his research with UA faculty mentor Dr. Susan Gaskins in the Capstone College of Nursing during the summer of 2004. He presented his research at undergraduate conferences at Penn State University and UA. Along with co-authoring a presentation for the 19th annual conference of the Southern Nursing Research Society in Atlanta, Ga., Salvador also co-authored a research report for the UA McNair Journal on “HIV Knowledge and HIV Testing Among College Students.”

While at UA, he has been a National Hispanic Scholar, Venture Scholar and Army ROTC scholarship recipient.

The McNair Scholars Program is named after Dr. Ronald E. McNair, a first-generation college student who earned a doctorate in physics at MIT. Later, as an astronaut, he became the second African-American in space. He was among those who died in the 1986 Challenger accident. Honoring his legacy, McNair Scholars is a prestigious scholarship and research program that helps prepare accomplished undergraduates for graduate study. A U.S. Department of Education TRIO program, McNair Scholars targets first-generation college students and those from other groups underrepresented in doctoral programs.