The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University (P&S) has, for many years, provided educational and enrichment programs designed to foster interest in careers in health professions and biomedical sciences. The New York State Pre-College Enrichment Program, a year-round academic enrichment program, has involved hundreds of high school students over the past seven years. The Minority High School Student Research Apprentice Program (MHSSRAP), supported by the National Institutes of Health, has placed ten to fifteen students in summer research experiences during the past ten years. The proposed project will replace the MHSSRAP with two programs: (1) for minority high school students; and (2) for pre-service and in-service pre-college science teachers who are minorities or who teach significant numbers of minority students. Ten students will be assigned for a six- week, salaried summer period to individual P&S/biomedical research settings under the direction of a faculty member who will serve as a mentor. Students will work on a defined research project which will include experience with literature review. laboratory techniques, as well as data handling and analysis. Written and verbal presentations of results are expected. Other enrichment activities and mentoring will take place simultaneously. Students will return during the succeeding years for conferences and continued
The whereabouts, activities, and career intentions of students will be followed during subsequent years. Evaluation will be derived from the results of the projects, the reactions of the students, as well as attitudes and actions during the years following the experience. Pre-College science teachers, recruited from teachers colleges and regional pre-college schools and committed to the enhancement of science teaching for minority students, will be assigned to six-week, salaried, mentored research experiences at P&S. The experiences will be designed to enhance the teachers' biomedical research knowledge and update as well broaden the teachers' base of information to be presented to subsequent students. The latter will be assessed by contact with the teachers' schools following the experience. It is expected that the program for the students and teachers will help with improvement of the biomedical/behavioral science information provided to high school students and enhance their interests in such careers while strengthening the ties between the schools and P&S.
