Penn State College of Medicine gets $1.3 million for science education

Penn State College of Medicine has been awarded $1.3 million for five years from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources, Special Education Program Award, to launch a collaborative research experience for high school students and their teachers.

This ambitious program, led by Judith S. Bond, chair and distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, was developed by a team of educators from Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Harrisburg, Middletown Area High School, the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, and Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. This unique program lets students and teachers participate in three sequential summer sessions, progressing from one-week, planned, hands-on science activities the first year to an independent research project under the supervision of an established investigator at Penn State College of Medicine in year three.

In addition, teachers will have the opportunity to earn graduate credits at Penn State Harrisburg, leading to a master’s degree in science education.

Activities at Penn State Hershey Medical Center are coordinated by Robert Bonneau, professor of microbiology and immunology, and the science education programs on the Penn State Harrisburg campus are coordinated by Judith Zaenglein, senior research associate. The program includes science presentations at the Whitaker Center, which are intended to explain to the public the importance of research supported by the National Institutes of Health and to aid recruiting students for the summer collaborative research experiences at Penn State.

The initial group of ninth-grade students and their science teachers will be drawn from Middletown Area High School, which has participated in the planning of the program and in conducting pilot projects to validate the approaches described in the proposal. The program will be expanded to include other capital region school districts.

This award is an extension of the outreach activities of a number of College of Medicine faculty members, including Robert Bonneau, professor of microbiology and immunology; Michael Chorney, professor of microbiology and immunology; and Gaylen Bradley, visiting professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. They were aided and encouraged by Michael Thompson, guidance counselor, Middletown Area High School; Betty Holmboe, Partnership for Career Development; and John Chikwem, dean, natural sciences and mathematics, Lincoln University.

The award for high school science education is a companion to another NIH-funded program for college students, the Short Term Education Program for Underrepresented Persons (STEP-UP), now completing its second year of a five-year grant at Penn State Hershey. That program also involves the active cooperation of Lincoln University.