Health Resources in Action has received a five-year, $1.25 million Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand its LEAH STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education program for Boston and Cambridge public high school students. Health Resources in Action (HRiA), in partnership with the Boston Private Industry Council and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will provide opportunities for high school students to get a head start towards careers as leaders in biomedical research.
HRiA’s LEAH project (Leaders through Education, Action and Hope) is a STEM, college readiness, and workforce development for Boston public school students. The new, SEPA-funded, LEAH Knox Scholars program offers two years of support for high school students that include:
- Training in biology lab skills through a 4-week lab experience at MIT as rising juniors
- STEM teaching and mentorship for elementary school students through the LEAH program
- Summer research internships throughout Boston’s world-class research labs as rising seniors
- College admissions counseling through LEAH
A 2016 report published authored by Robert Sege, MD, PhD, HRiA’s Chief Medical Officer, reported that only 1% of NIH research award recipients are Black scientists, and traced the under-representation all the way back to high school. Based on this insight, the LEAH Knox Scholars program will provide minority students with the solid foundation needed to continue their science education in college and beyond.
