The Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Cincinnati has a history of strong commitment to precollege and outreach education. This proposal is for a summer research program for high school students and K-12 teachers that will give them hands-on experience into biomedical investigations. In so doing,the Department will continue its efforts to make biology more appealing and exciting for high school students and to increase the enrollment and retention of minorities currently underrepresented in the sciences. Nationally and locally, the number of students from minority groups (African-American, Hispanic and Native American) in biology and the sciences in general is quite small. This is unfortunate since demographic data suggest that soon these minorities will constitute the major groups of the U.S. population, and leaders from these groups will be in positions that set national policy in health, environment, etc. Uninformed decisions could have serious consequences for a society that is in need of solutions for increasingly complex problems. Thus it is imperative that special steps are taken to increase the involvement of these groups in the sciences. In the program proposed here, high school students will have the opportunity to work as partners in established research teams. They will observe and gather new information, participate in discussions of concepts and hypotheses and formulate new ideas. K-12 teachers will have the same interactive opportunities as the students. This program should have a positive impact on their enthusiasm for teaching science. They will also be able to catch up with new developments and devise ways to introduce these findings and techniques into their classrooms. With renewed or enhanced enthusiasm and expanded knowledge, they should be able to encourage and bolster the interest of their students in science. This program will serve as an effective vehicle to engage students in the discovery and excitement of science, particularly in the biomedical areas.
