Huntington Medical Research Institutes STEM Program Benefits PUSD Students

Eight 11th- and 12th-grade students from two Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) high schools and Huntington Medical Research Institutes recently celebrated the conclusion of HMRI’s inaugural biomedical research high school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program with a closing symposium at which the students gave brief presentations recapping their respective learning experiences and received certificates of completion.
The PUSD high school participants — Skylar Adams and Anthony Romero of the CIS Academy and Haydee Angeles, Emily Martinez, Elizabeth Alvarez, Arleth Angeles, Isaiah Gilmore and Amina Malone of Marshall Fundamental Secondary School — all were selected for the program through an application process that included teacher recommendations.
The six-week summer program gave the students an invaluable opportunity to learn from and collaborate with HMRI research scientists and staff, a STEM instructor and undergraduate teaching assistant mentors from three colleges and universities.
While delving into various subjects — research, methods and instrumentation; anatomy (brain, heart, lungs); pathology and imaging; genetics; and mental health — students conducted interactive laboratory exercises, including extracting DNA from strawberries; learning about brain function by watching zombie film clips; conducting dissections; exploring the human anatomy using endoscopes with a laboratory “squishy human body” to simulate an endoscopy; and touring HMRI’s labs.
“Everyone at HMRI and our supporters are delighted this inaugural program was so well received by the students,” said HMRI President and CEO Julia E. Bradsher. “Our key mission for this program is to educate and encourage the next generation of outstanding physicians, scientists and researchers to follow their interests and continue to grow and develop toward science-related careers.
“Judging from the students’ enthusiastic responses, I believe time will prove we achieved that goal. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for them and what great things they will do because of the seeds we planted here.”
Bradsher said that HMRI’s inaugural biomedical research high school STEM program was made possible by start-up funds from Pasadena residents Drs. Sonia and Neil Singla, a three-year grant from The Confidence Foundation, and funding from the Ann Peppers Foundation.
Over the past 40 years, HMRI has offered a Summer Research Program to some 515 undergraduate college students, many of whom have gone on to become physicians, scientists, engineers and researchers — some now holding prestigious faculty appointments at academic institutions around the world, according to Bradsher.
“We are deeply grateful to Drs. Singla, The Confidence Foundation and the Ann Peppers Foundation for enabling HMRI to realize our goal of making a greater impact in the community by expanding our summer programming to include underserved high school students,” Bradsher said. “We look forward to our high school STEM program’s continued growth in coming years to give more and more students who might not otherwise have access to top-tier interactive educational programs in these fields opportunities to explore new and uncharted solutions to some of healthcare’s biggest challenges, like heart disease, Alzheimer’s and mental illness — and have fun in the process — just as these students did.”