The Research for Disabilities Education Focused Research Initiatives (RDE-FRI) will permit Boston University to enhance its science education programs by expanding the School of Medicine's (BUSM) CityLab program to further address the needs and interests of students with disabilities. In 1996, CityLab launched its Summer Biotechnology Program (SummerLab) for high school students who seek an intensive one-week exposure to a life sciences laboratory. With RDE (PPD)-DEI support over the past two years, we have expanded the Summer Biotechnology Program into a model program that fully integrates youths with disabilities into a genuine laboratory experience. Participants with and without disabilities work together in teams towards the common goals of learning and performing molecular biological techniques for recombinant protein synthesis, protein isolation, and protein purification. Students also work together to prepare and present a poster presentation for their parents, friends, and BUSM faculty members. SummerLab participants also discuss science career opportunities and tour local biotechnology companies such as Genzyme so that they can see how their experience at SummerLab might lead to future employment. This seminal experience serves as a basis for further laboratory science education through BUSM's CityLab Scholars and Academy programs. This RDE-FRI effort will enable us to continue to expand access to biotechnology and biological sciences for students with disabilities. We will continue to expand our summer and academic year laboratory experiences for students so that they can pursue advanced education at the undergraduate level. We will also expand the pipeline of students with disabilities who consider science education and careers by providing practical coursework and experience for science teachers who work with students with disabilities. We believe that by providing teachers with a mentored experience, they will be better able to encourage their students with disabilities to pursue science coursework. Intellectual Merit Criterion: The proposed program will provide physical (lab bench height, flexible seating without attached chairs, etc.) and material (large print for visually impaired youth, interpreter for hearing impaired youth, visual aids and note-takers for youth with brain injuries and learning disabilities) accommodations to facilitate career exploration. This program will further integrate the youth with disabilities so that the students with and without disabilities work together and learn from one another. Students who attend these programs will be encouraged to pursue additional science education, either at Boston University (through CityLab Academy and standard undergraduate science programs) or elsewhere. We will also seek to increase the number of science teachers who actively promote science careers as attainable goals for youth with disabilities. This program will also include on-going mentoring for both students and teachers to reinforce positive attitudes towards science. We will also evaluate student and teacher participants' attitudes towards science and science careers. Broader Impacts Criterion: Perhaps the most important characteristic of this proposal is that it opens doors for youth with disabilities who might not have had an opportunity to appreciate the tremendous career opportunities that are available in the sciences. There is a strong national interest in encouraging all students to pursue continued study of science and mathematics so that they have the requisite background to consider a science career. Students with disabilities are often particularly suited to pursue science because they possess the intellectual capacity to become independent thinkers, but often they (and their families and teachers) do not see the path to a science career. This program will provide a new pathway for students with disabilities to explore science careers and promises to build on CityLab's success in encouraging its students to pursue continued study of science. We will disseminate the materials and best practices that emerge from this project through conventional science education and disability networks.
