A plan is proposed that will result in the direct improvement of the quality of biomedical science exposure of a number of high school students (a total of 32 in a 3 year period) and science teachers (a total of 7 in the same period). Teacher involvement will have a cascade, amplifying effect towards that objective which is expected to result in increasing the number of students pursuing health related careers. The plan is rooted in the MHSSRA Program which the School of Medicine has administered for the past 12 years. The main activity will occur during the summertime, and will consist in a direct participation of the student or teacher in the laboratory of active investigators of the Medical Sciences Campus (MSC) in the general areas of Cell Biology, lmmunology, Protein Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Parasitology, Microbiology/Virology, Natural Products, Environmental Toxicology and Drugs. The number of mentors required represents about 20% of those listed in the MSC as active investigators. Also included in the summer experience are 5 lectures of topics of broad interest, visits to the institute of Neurobiology and the Caribbean Primate Research Center and a Closing Ceremony. It is proposed that two of the students acquire their research experience during the academic year. A number of laboratory demonstrations to take place saturdays will serve to reinforce the summer experience and extend it to students and teachers who did not participate in the summer. This will also serve the purpose of maintaining contact with former participant teachers in order to continuously explore better ways of transmitting their experience to the students. The proposed program will be administratively interfaced for specific purposes with the Offices of Recruitment and Evaluation of the School of Medicine and its Hispanic Center for Excellence.
