Educational Projects
Export Project
The CRMH was awarded its original P60 Center Grant in 2003 to establish a Center of Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach Research on Health Disparities and Training (Project EXPORT). In 2007, the CRMH successfully competed for the renewal of Project EXPORT, known as Project EXPORT - A Center of Excellence (PEACE). This center grant provides support for long-term, multidisciplinary programs of research, education and community outreach in critical health problems areas in Houston. One of the projects included was the PIPELINE Scientific Training Program (PSTP) - Linking Training from High School to Graduate Programs, which was implemented by the CRMH Education Core. The PSTP, linked with the SCIENCE Project, introduces interested and qualified Texas young people to a research environment, utilizing an elementary setting. It also provides firsthand experience in the varied career opportunities available in the biomedical sciences, public health and community-based participatory research for young people. The eight-week program for high school and college students generally runs from early June through the last week of July and selects two to three students high school students, along with one or more undergraduates, to participate.
Science Project
In 2005, the Center for Research on Minority Health in the Department of Health Disparities Research at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (CRMH) and the Fort Bend Independent School District (FBISD) formed a partnership to do an educational intervention project focused on environmental health sciences. One of the main focuses of the partnership with FBISD was to take the PIPELINE Scientific Training Program and place it into action, starting at the elementary and high school levels.
The Science Centered Inquiry-Based Educational Activities iN Collaborating Elementary Classrooms (SCIENCE) Project assists in nurturing elementary students' interest in environmental health science and research. The initial grant, funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Minority Health Research and Education Grant Program, utilizes inquiry-based science instruction to improve K-2 teachers' science knowledge and pedagogical skills. Furthermore, the project encompassed an environmental health science summer institute that provided professional development and valuable information on multiple strategies used in teaching environmental health sciences to Hispanic and African-American students in FBISD. The SCIENCE Project developed and implemented SCIENCE centers supplied with science education materials for teachers and students to conduct hands-on inquiry-based science activities. Overall, the SCIENCE Project concentrated on increasing the number of under-represented minority students in health professions and biomedical research, fostering increased interest in science and strengthening scientific skills needed to succeed in school. We are proud to say that the program has recently been awarded the Texas Association for Partners in Education Crystal Award for Texas Collegiate Partners. In 2007, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Minority Health Research and Education Grand Program funded the CRMH to continue the program in the 3rd through 4th grades