The major objective of this program is to increase the number of underrepresented high school students/teachers involved in biomedical research in the College of Pharmacy. The emphasis will be on an eight week structured summer research experience under the direction of pharmacy faculty researchers in the areas of pharmaceutics and medicinal chemistry. Research will continue throughout the year, whenever possible. Maintaining contact with students/teachers will be accomplished through monthly follow-up correspondence or activities such as academic study skills, research seminars, and college preparation/financial aid workshops to ensure successful college matriculation. The program would involve providing research opportunities for eight underrepresented students and two high school teachers/year for the three years of this grant period 1994-97. These individualized research experiences and other activities are intended to: (1) assist underrepresented science teachers to keep pace with the explosive growth of scientific knowledge in health related areas such as drug design and synthesis, drug delivery systems, natural products, computational chemistry and biotechnology, plus enable them to develop new discovery-oriented educational strategies, and transfer this new knowledge to their students; (2) provide underrepresented high school students with a personalized, hands-on exposure to health related research that stimulates their research interest in pharmacy and encourages decisions toward careers in the health sciences and; (3) allow practicing research faculty members, who serve as mentors and ensure the scientific accuracy of the program, to play a greater role in strengthening the content and precollege science education through their interaction with these students/teachers. The follow-up activities during the academic year for the underrepresented students and teachers will allow their research endeavors to continue to be monitored by the faculty mentors to maintain the relationships established, encourage scholarly research in competitive science projects and academic enrichment with various workshops/seminars to successfully prepare these individuals for college matriculation. This program involves recruitment, research, and retention through maintained continuity in mentoring by faculty members and the Program Director in the College of Pharmacy who are committed, sensitized and dedicated to the success of the underrepresented minority participants in the program.
