$749,000 Howard Hughes Education Grant to The Jackson Laboratory
| Date: June 21, 2007 | 
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Bar Harbor, Maine -- The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has awarded The Jackson Laboratory a $749,000 grant as part of a $22.5 million nationwide initiative to help improve science educationæand connect research laboratories with their local communities. The 5-year grant will fund the Laboratory's research internships for high school students and programs for math and science teachers.
The HHMI grant provides funding for high school students participating in The Jackson Laboratory's historic Summer Student Program, which targets minority and underserved high school student populations, and for local high school students serving academic-year internships at the Laboratory.
The new grant also provides funding for research sabbaticals by Maine math and science teachers, as well as for an innovative program for student science teachers earning a Master of Science in Teaching degree from the University of Maine. These student-teachers spend a semester at The Jackson Laboratory, getting research experience. University of Maine program instructors guide the student teachers in translating their research experience to the classroom.
Jon Geiger, Ph.D., director of The Jackson Laboratory's Education Office, notes, "Teachers and students who have not had this first-handæ independentæresearch project experience cannot fully understand that science is both a body of knowledge and a way of understanding the physical world. Young people and mid-career teachers alike are transformed by the experience of actually working on their own cutting-edge research project."
The Jackson Laboratory was one of 31 institutions, from a pool of 297 eligible institutions nationwide, to receive one of the HHMI grants. The $22.5 HHMI million initiative aims to close the gap between research institutions and their local communities by supporting educational programs intended to stimulate an interest in science, particularly among young students.æThe institutions receiving the grants include medical schools, hospitals, research institutions, a school of dentistry and a school of veterinary medicine.
The largest privately funded education initiative of its kind in the United States, HHMI's grants program is enhancing science education for students at all levels, from the earliest grades through advanced training. Since 1988 HHMI has awarded approximately $1.5 billion in grants. The Jackson Laboratory is among 10 of this year's awardees who also received a grant from HHMI during the Institute's community outreach grant competition in 2003.
To encourage young people to choose science as a career, The Jackson Laboratory offers programs for students at every educational level. The Summer Student Program and academic-year internship programs provide high school and college students with an opportunity to conduct independent research under the guidance of staff scientists. Other educational opportunities at the Laboratory include day programs for elementary school students, thesis research opportunities for graduate students, a cooperative Ph.D. program with the University of Maine, and a postdoctoral training program.
The Jackson Laboratory (www.jax.org), founded in 1929, is one of the worldÍs leading genetics research institutions, with facilities in Bar Harbor, Maine, and West Sacramento, Calif. Its research staff of more than 450 investigates the genetic basis of cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, glaucoma, diabetes and many other human diseases and disorders. The Laboratory is also the world's source for more than 3,000 strains of genetically defined mice, home of the Mouse Genome Database and many other publicly available information resources, and an international hub for scientific courses, conferences, training and education.
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Contact(s): Joyce Peterson, 207-288-6058, joyce.peterson@jax.org
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Media Relations, Communications Office
The Jackson Laboratory
600 Main Street
Bar Harbor, Maine 04609-1500
Phone: 207-288-6051
Fax: 207-288-6076
Email: news@jax.org
