This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. WV-INBRE will work directly with the HSTA program to engage high school graduates who demonstrate interest in biomedical research. Students who participate in the HSTA program in their high schools maintain competitive GPAs and already demonstrate interest in math and science. The HSTA program is a well-established and renowned program initiated by funding received from the NCRR's Science Education Program Award (SEPA) program. WV-INBRE will encourage and assist HSTA students to continue to expand upon their research experiences by entering WV-INBRE funded biomedical research programs at one of our PUIs throughout the state of West Virginia. Thus, the NCRR-funded WV-INBRE and HSTA programs propose to interface with each other to form a regional model program whereby high school graduates who have participated in biomedical research-focused training through the HSTA initiative will be provided opportunities to further develop their interest in biomedical research at an undergraduate institution in the WV-INBRE network. The interface between WV-INBRE and HSTA will initially focus on two phases of the program: (1) assist in recruiting HSTA graduates into WV-INBRE PUIs, and (2) engage HSTA graduates in the WV-INBRE-funded biomedical research programs at these institutions. A WV-INBRE/HSTA Coordinator will direct this effort and will work directly with the WV-INBRE Administrative Core. In developing phase 1, the coordinator will establish interactive connections with the HSTA regional clubs throughout the state and representatives of the WV-INBRE partner institutions. Therefore, the direct involvement of WV-INBRE investigators and their student interns with HSTA graduates will be supported throughout the formative high school level training years of the HSTA students. WV-INBRE-funded faculty project investigators at the PUIs have shown interest in developing programs to attract qualified high school graduates to the biomedical research programs at their institutions and will work to provide contact and mentoring resources for the HSTA students and graduates. Thus, we hope to establish a viable means to continue the training and development of these students throughout their 4 years of undergraduate education. In developing phase 2, the coordinator will work closely with the HSTA program, the PUIs, and the WV-INBRE database manager to strengthen the tracking of these students as they progress through their careers and better document how many of these students pursue a biomedical research related career and the nature of their career choices.
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