The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has awarded a $1.8 million grant to Arizona State University and a $1.5 million grant to University of Arizona to improve undergraduate science education programs.
This is the fifth grant HHMI has awarded the UA Undergraduate Biology Research Program (UBRP), which provides research experience and faculty mentorships to 140 students each year. The funding also supports Biomedical Research Abroad: Vistas Open (BRAVO), a program that sends students to foreign countries to conduct bio research.
Andrew Quon, program officer for HHMI’s undergraduate science education program, told the Arizona Daily Star that UA was “particularly noteworthy.”
“Every cycle they try to improve upon the program they are already running,” he said. “They’re taking what works and trying to refine it.”
ASU received a $1.8 million grant to build the Arizona Biosciences Network, or AzBioNet, an opportunity for undergraduate students to interact with scientists who work at Phoenix-area research and medical institutions.
With the grant, ASU and its School of Life Sciences will increase the number of undergraduates involved in research from 45 to 70. It will also run workshops for members of the network interested in mentoring undergraduates in research, recruit community college and high school students to get involved in research, and tap members of the network to develop courses that prepare students for science careers.
HHMI, a Maryland-based Institute, was founded in 1953 by aviator-industrialist Howard Hughes. This year it awarded nearly $90 million to 50 universities to improve undergraduate science education programs.
For more information:
“Undergrad bio-research gets $1.5M grant,” Arizona Daily Star, 06/01/2006
“ASU to build Arizona Biosciences Network,” ASU News, 06/02/2006