The primary goal of our summer research program is to immerse a selected group of 6 high school students and 6 undergraduates in a translational environment of basic neuroscience, neural engineering, and neurological surgery. In the first 7 years of program operation, we have placed 75 high school and college undergraduate students from 49 different schools in the program. Students have participated in 17 different laboratories engaging a total of 22 faculty, attended over 80 separate Grand Rounds presentations, observed over 150 procedures by following 12 different surgeons, and had weekly student group presentations by 20 different faculty members. Several students (8) from our earlier classes have now been accepted into medical school or PhD neuroscience programs, and many of the high school students have gone on to neuroscience or premedical studies in college. Over 50% of our participants have been women and 15% have been from underrepresented groups. Participants in this program will be recruited by announcing our program through science departments at local high schools, community colleges, colleges and universities. Special efforts will be made to recruit individuals from underrepresented groups through different outreach programs including The Rainier Scholars, DO-IT, and Washington MESA. Coordinated recruitment through these programs will ensure that we will have participants from groups including individuals who are African Americans, Hispanic Latinos, Native Americans, children from families where there is no experience with college education and the opportunities that arise there from, disadvantaged (e.g. physical, sensory deprived, learning disorders), and have fostering experiences. Through their summer experiences participants will gain the self-assurance and confidence that will enable them to take advantage of educational opportunities, will have a better understanding of the scientific process, challenges of translating basic research to clinical application, will provide them with mentors that can become part of their continuing interest in their education and may lead to careers in science, engineering, and/or medicine.
The primary goal of our summer research program is to immerse a selected group of 6 high school students and 6 undergraduates in a translational environment of basic neuroscience, neural engineering, and neurosurgery. The program involves placement in a neuroscience laboratory, attendance at Neurological Surgery Grand Rounds and Resident Teaching conferences and a Friday Lunch Research Discussion developed specifically for this group and led by faculty members. Additional activities include an opportunity to present scientific results n an end-of-session graduation program, and social events organized to support and encourage students in an informal setting. Participants in this program will be recruited by announcing our program through science departments at local high schools, community colleges, colleges and universities, with special efforts made to recruit individuals from underrepresented groups.
