High School Student NeuroResearch Program (HSNRP)

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University of Arizona's High School Student NeuroResearch (NR) Program (HSNRP) nurtures, trains, and sustains the spirit of inquiry in a growing diverse, connected workforce pipeline and faculty peer/near peer support network. Over the next 5 years, HSNRP will offer annually 10 talented, motivated Arizonawide high school (8 weeks) and 3 progressing undergraduate students (10 weeks) full-time closely mentored hands on-brain on basic, translational, clinical and popula- tion research experiences emphasizing the workings and disorders of the normal and abnormal brain (“favorite organ” of interviewees), spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system and encourage continuing involvement in more advanced research leading to science/medical/health-related careers. HSNRP leverages the strong infrastructure, effective recruit- ment/retention strategies, engaging student/faculty/near peer relationships, and outstanding trainee productivity of our long-standing federally funded multidisciplinary disadvantaged high school/undergraduate/medical student summer research programs and year-round enrichment. Interacting together, HSNRP trainees will be integrated into an innovative, internationally recognized question-based Summer Institute on Medical Ignorance (SIMI) with novel mobile-accessible software platforms designed for collaboration and interweaving biomedical Knowns and Unknowns – what we know we don't know (research), don't know we don't know (discovery), and think we know but don't (error), i.e., unanswered/ unasked questions and unquestioned answers. Bringing together multilevel trainees, the summer curriculum features informal triweekly general and NR biomedical topical seminars and faculty/SIMI alumni "life stories" with periodic enrichment activities year-round emphasizing "translating translation and scientific questioning," and introducing the language and principles of pathobiology, neuro-anatomy/physiology/pharmacology; clinical correlations, laboratory/ leadership/multimedia communication skill practice, social networking, and sustained career advising. Within multiple basic and clinical departments and specialized Centers of Excellence and overseen by an energetic experienced multi- disciplinary HSNRP leadership team, research encompasses cross-cutting themes and in vivo, in vitro, in situ, in silico, and modeling approaches to neurobiology/disorders ranging from Parkinson and Alzheimer disease, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, hydrocephalus, muscular dystrophies, headache, pain/addiction, to sleep disturbances, brain tumors, deep brain stimulation, molecular psychiatry, cognition, blood-brain barrier/neuroprotection, neuroimaging, neurogenomics/ proteomics, neuroengineering, cerebral hemo/lymphovascular dynamics, stroke, and health disparities. Based on our ~35-year track record and access to large diverse pools of disadvantaged/URM Arizona students reflected in 787 SIMI- trained high school students (including110 HSNRP alums) followed to date with substantial numbers in or working toward science and specifically NINDS mission-related basic science/clinical/teaching careers, we expect HSNRP to continue to extend and enlarge the NR diversity pipeline and improve neurohealth literacy through community engage- ment. Ongoing evaluation includes feedback surveys, database registry, curiosity scales, short-/long-term followup, and individual portfolios to document efficacy and the training model's sustainability and promote diversity and networking.