The purpose of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine (USACOM) High School Student Summer Research Apprentice Program is to increase the number of students who choose careers in the areas of science and the health professions. This will be a cooperative effort between the USACOM and selected high schools with predominantly disadvantaged student populations. The program will expose a group of ten students and two teachers each summer to individualized hands-on scientific and clinical laboratory research experiences with scientist and physician mentors. The participants will perform experimental research activities in laboratory settings of USACOM faculty mentors. The projects will involve basic and clinical research to discover methods of disease prevention, health promotion, and cures in human medicine. The participants will work as part of a research team on a project already in progress or one that has been specifically designed for the student's enrichment experience. Each participant will work the equivalent of eight hours per day for a period of eight weeks under the direct supervision of the faculty mentor and a designated laboratory assistant. The students will learn the basic fundamentals of research; what it is, how it is conducted, and how the results are reported. The teacher experience will be designed to improve their knowledge concerning the growth and changes in scientific research techniques and technology in the health-related areas, and to help them develop discovery-oriented educational strategies to take back to their classrooms. One day each week, participants will meet as a group with the PD to share the hypothesis, purpose, methodology, progress, and anticipated results of their research projects. During this time, they will also attend a series of clinical, behavioral, and motivational seminars.
