The goal of this project is to increase disadvantaged high school student interest in biomedical careers and to help them prepare for entry into college programs that will enhance their career success.
Our specific aims will be to (1) promote enthusiasm for biomedical research, (2) help participants develop technical and intellectual skills, (3) to promote personal mentoring for each participant, (4) to provide career counseling and (5) to expand the sphere of personal acquaintances that can serve as role models and colleagues. Thirty high school seniors (10/year) and 6 teachers (2/year) will be exposed to a research atmosphere in a nurturing summer career development program. An important focus of the program will be to provide personal mentoring and guidance for each participant. Our faculty has developed a nationally recognized reputation for their personal involvement in encouraging young people to enter and succeed in biomedical career pathways. Students and teachers will be matched with faculty mentors and become functioning members of their labs. The faculty of BCM have already gained experience in designing pre-undergraduate research projects. Participants will be matched by interest and background to a project that will promote learning new technical skills and development of an understanding of how to approach and conduct research. They will use advanced techniques, often in molecular biology, that are not typically available t their schools. The laboratory oriented aspect of the program will be supplemented by participation in group discussions, seminars, career development activities and social activities. The participants will have the benefit of interacting with 80 undergraduates from throughout the nation who are in the SMART Program, many of whom are from under- represented populations. Participants will prepare a final presentation summarizing some aspect of their achievement and present it for the group and on their own high school campus, transmitting what they have learned to other teachers and students in the Houston area.
