Consortium for Increasing Research and Collaborative Learning Experiences The CIRCLE Program creates the infrastructure for middle and high school students from areas without adequate research experience to expand their research skills, engage in authentic research experiences, and incubate their interest in a career in biomedical, behavioral or clinical research. CIRCLE builds upon the existing Science Education Partnership Award grant that created the PreHealth Career Corps (PHCC) program that serves over 1,800 students interested in health science careers by providing training workshops, mentoring, career and academic counseling, test and college prep, essay writing and interview skills in an on-demand fashion as needed by each individual. The one weakness is that there aren't enough research experiences for interested students. The CIRCLE Program will provide age appropriate research training and career mentoring with regular chats, blogs and video calls with their research team, a local mentor and a distance research supervisor. The goal of the CIRCLE program is to create a distance research network that will enhance scientific research interest and skills in underserved communities throughout the US Pacific region in order to strengthen STEM career pathways, expand public knowledge of research and ensure a maximally large and diverse workforce to meet the Pacific's biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.
SPECIFIC AIMS 1) Create and test the infrastructure for distance research collaborations between underserved Pacific locations and 10-15 research sites to come up with best practices for an ongoing distance research network. 2) Develop health science research experiences and research mentorship for 300 underserved 7th to 12th grade students over the five years of grant funding resulting in 80% demonstrating increased interest in science careers. 3) Provide health science career education and mentorship to 300 underserved 7th to 12th grade students to strengthen their interest in biomedical, clinical, and behavioral research with 80% demonstrating increased confidence and tools to pursue health science careers.
The Consortium for Increasing Research and Collaborative Learning Experiences (CIRCLE) program will create a distance research network to expand scientific research interest and skills in underserved communities throughout the US Pacific region. This will strengthen STEM career pathways, expand public knowledge of science and help ensure a maximally large and diverse workforce to meet the biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs of the United States.
