This proposal requests support for the 17th Annual Ernest Everett Just Scientific Symposium which will be held in Charleston, SC on February 24, 2017 on the campus of the Medical University of South Carolina. The purpose of this symposium is to increase the number of minorities pursuing careers in the biomedical sciences. Ernest Everett Just, Ph.D. (1883-1941) was an African American scientist born in Charleston, SC. He graduated from SC State University with a Licentiate of Instruction, became an instructor at Howard University in Washington, DC and eventually became head of the Biology Department. In 1916, Ernest Just earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Embryology from the University of Chicago. He traveled abroad to conduct research and was the first American invited to conduct research at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, Germany. He published more than 50 papers between 1912 and 1937; and wrote two books Basic Methods for Experiments on Eggs of Marine Animals and The Biology of the Cell Surface. EE Just is an outstanding role model for today's students contemplating a career in biomedical science and/or health care. The long-term goals of the EE Just Symposium are to promote career interest in graduate medical education and to eliminate disparities in biomedical science careers. The audience will consist mostly of minority junior-senior level college students from colleges and universities in the Southeastern United States. The Symposium has five major goals: (1) to inspire URM students by introducing them to EE Just's career and the challenges he overcame to become a successful biomedical research scientist; (2) to provide an opportunity for URM students to interact with prominent minority role models; (3) to expose students to science presentations given by graduate students, undergraduates and prominent national and international scientists; (4) increase recruitment of a diverse student population in Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Health Professions and Graduate Studies professions. The significance of the Symposium is that we celebrate Ernest Everett Just's contributions to science and scientific research, inform and recruit minority students into careers in the biomedical sciences, and identify and present high impact scientific research through presentations by students and accomplished scientists.
Disparities in medical education exist in the state of South Carolina and the Southeastern United States and such disparities lead to a reduction in medical careers and health for the affected populations. To address these disparities, the Medical University of SC sponsors the Ernest Just Scientific Symposium. The symposium is organized to present information to undergraduate students to increase their interests in graduate medical education as a career.
