The Science Education Partnership (SEP) group at Fred Hutch Cancer Center received a $1.35 million, five-year grant earlier this year from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, to launch a new science education and training program called Reducing Inequities by Promoting Participatory Learning Experiences in Sciences (RIPPLES). The grant, from the Science Education Partnership Award program, will help support curriculum development, professional development for educators and engagement with American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students to foster equity in science education.
RIPPLES is designed to encourage middle and high school students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to study science, technology, engineering and math; to help diversify the scientific workforce of the future; and to advance health disparities research. Jeanne Ting Chowning, PhD, associate vice president of Science Education and Community Partnerships in the Office of Education and Training, is the RIPPLES principal investigator. Vida Henderson, PhD, PharmD, assistant professor in the Cancer Prevention Program in the Health Sciences Division, and Regina Wu, associate director of SEP and RIPPLES program manager, are co-investigators.