The University of Washington (UW) is a world-class research institution that holds diversity as a core value. As a leader in environmental health science research, the UW is well-positioned to assist the National Institute of the Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) with its strategic goal to increase the diversity of the environmental health science research workforce. We propose a new undergraduate training program - Supporting Undergraduate Research Experiences in Environmental Health (SURE-EH) - specifically geared to this strategic goal. SURE-EH will provide environmental health science research experience and educational opportunities to at least four traditionally underrepresented undergraduate students per year from across the UW. Participants will be selected during the winter or spring of their sophomore year and will remain in the program for two years, including two summers. They will conduct environmental health science-related research in one of the wide range of disciplines encouraged by NIEHS' Strategic Plan. SURE-EH will provide academic opportunities to complement the research experience, including course recommendations, seminars, workshops, and research symposia. These educational opportunities will enhance the breadth and depth of SURE-EH participants' environmental health science training. In the summer SURE-EH will partner with the UW Environmental Health Research Experience Program (EHREP), a NIEHS-funded summer research program. This will foster student growth by providing peer mentoring opportunities as well as weekly seminars and social events. SURE-EH trainees will learn responsible conduct of research and will be directed to courses where they can learn about the ethical conduct of science. This program, in combination with the outstanding and broad-based environmental health science expertise of UW faculty, ensures the SURE-EH participants will become future leaders in the field of environmental health sciences.
NIEHS recognizes that promoting healthier lives involves discovering how the environment affects people. It is essential that the workers making these discoveries represent everyone, including individuals who are traditionally underrepresented. The SURE-EH program will provide research experience and educational opportunities in the environmental health sciences to University of Washington undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.
| Suter, Megan K; Karr, Catherine J; John-Stewart, Grace C et al. (2018) Implications of Combined Exposure to Household Air Pollution and HIV on Neurocognition in Children. Int J Environ Res Public Health 15: |
