Rural Alaska

UAF wins $23.8M grant for rural biomedical education

A $23.8 million grant to boost the undergraduate study of biomedical research and health sciences by rural Alaska students will offer new education opportunities at 10 campuses from Kotzebue to Ketchikan, the University of Alaska Fairbanks said.

The National Institutes of Health announced the five-year grant, one of 10 programs funded nationwide, as a means of fostering interest in biomedical and health careers.

The Biomedical Learning and Student Training program is to be led by Barbara Taylor, an associate professor of neurobiology; Karsten Hueffer, an associate professor of veterinary microbiology; and Arleigh Reynolds, associate dean of UAF's Department of Veterinary Medicine.

A press release quoted NIH Director Francis Collins as saying one goal is to promote more diversity in the workforce.

"This program will test new models of training and mentoring so that we can ultimately attract the best minds from all groups to biomedical research," Collins said.

The announcement quoted Reynolds as saying rural students have a blend of cultural and scientific knowledge that will become a valuable asset.

"There are some really pressing public health and biomedical questions like climate change that are facing rural Alaska, and they're going to have huge impacts on the way that the culture, economics and lifestyles of people there are going to change," Reynolds said.

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The project will test teaching methods and try new techniques and include scholarships, professional development workshops, seminars and expanded biomedical facilities, UAF said.

University of Alaska Southeast Chancellor John Pugh said it is an ambitious proposal, one that "gives us the opportunity to transform science education in Alaska."

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