Nih Funds Science Education Partnership Awards

Whether they are learning why cardiovascular disease is more likely to strike African Americans, discovering how Lyme disease is transmitted, or studying aquatic organisms, students across the country are being encouraged to immerse themselves in science, as part of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) program to increase science literacy and encourage research careers.

The NIH has announced it will award $9.4 million to fund nine Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPA). Administered by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the NIH, SEPA grants provide from two to five years of support.

FY 2005 Science Education Partnership Awards are:

* Exploratorium (San Francisco, Calif.)

* Great Lakes Science Center (Cleveland, Ohio)

* Harvard University Medical School (Cambridge, Mass.)

* Jackson State University (Jackson, Miss.)

* Oregon Health and Science University (Portland, Ore.)

* University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (Newark, N.J.)

* University of Texas-Pan American (Edinburg, Texas)

* University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, Wis.)

* Yale University (New Haven, Conn.)

SEPA programs serve K-12 students and teachers, as well as science centers and museums across the country. Many of the programs target underserved and/or minority populations that are less likely to pursue science careers.

In addition, SEPA partnerships develop projects that educate the general public about health and disease, with the aim of helping people make better lifestyle choices as new medical advances emerge.

In the initial three-year phase, SEPA programs form partnerships among biomedical and clinical researchers, educators, community groups, and other interested organizations to create programs that provide a better understanding of scientific research. In the second two-year phase of the program, these SEPA-generated curricula are more broadly disseminated.