Hughes Grant supports CCF/John Hay Partnership
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has awarded a four-year, $425,000 grant to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation to benefit the Cleveland Clinic/John Hay Education Partnership. The grant will be used to fund a variety of projects connected with the 10-year-old Partnership, which aims to prepare students at John Hay High School and 12 local middle and primary schools for careers in science and health care.
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation was one of only 35 institutions nationwide-and one of only two in Ohio-to receive pre-college science education grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute this year. The Howard Hughes grant program is the largest private initiative in U.S. history to enhance science education at all levels, according to the Institute.
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A helpful hand from the Hughes Foundation insures support of John Hay high school students in their quest to explore scientific research. Pierre Jones, left, tests the required torque for mounting an orthopedic plate with screws to bovine bone under the mentorship of Brian Davis, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Engineering, as Margaret Sherels and Sabrina Spikes, far right, participate in the LRI/John Hay Education Partnership. |
Through the grant, the Cleveland Clinic/John Hay Education Partnership will seek to accomplish three goals:
- improve science literacy among students at John Hay and surrounding middle and primary schools
- boost the performance of John Hay students on the Ohio State Proficiency Examination in Science
- assist the John Hay faculty in promoting science literacy through the teaching of a unique medical/biological thematic curriculum developed by educators and Cleveland Clinic researchers and scientists.
One highlight of the Partnership is the Science and Research Initiative (SRI) Student Scholar Program, in which John Hay students have the opportunity to work in various research departments at the Cleveland Clinic. Students collaborate with Clinic scientists in an individually structured research learning experience in the summer and in other science-oriented activities during the school year.
"The most beneficial aspect of this program is that we will be able to offer continuous support to the best students," said SRI co-director Brian Davis, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Engineering. "This grant affords motivated students the chance to gain hands-on experience by working side-by-side with Cleveland Clinic researchers."
The grant will also be used to establish an SRI Faculty Scholar at John Hay to collaborate with Cleveland Clinic researchers on various educational projects, and to purchase high-speed computers for use by Student Scholar Program participants.