Georgia Science Education Initiative NCI YES (GA-YES) - The Georgia Science Education Initiative NCI YES (GA-YES) program will address the need to train future physicians and scientists to ensure the continued U.S. excellence in biomedical research in the future. Thus, the GA-YES program is designed to help build the future cancer research and clinical workforce. Our hypothesis is that by exposing high school students to hands-on research that addresses questions across the entire research continuum, this approach will enhance student motivation to continue to pursue future STEM/biomedical studies in higher education and, ultimately, in a future career in cancer research. By exploring the underlying biologic mechanisms, molecular and genetic principles, epidemiology, artificial intelligence, data science, cancer risks, clinical imaging, therapeutic advances, and potential interventions through their own mentored research studies, this approach would serve to engage students more deeply and demonstrate the applicability of the science and research to the student’s own future career path. Experiences that lead to a sense of personal mastery, development of skills that contribute to mastery, social persuasion, as well as the interplay of constructs such as outcome expectancy and personal goals, all contribute to perceived self-efficacy. The theoretical framework for this program follows Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). Constructs in SCCT, such as changes in self-efficacy, impact of research projects and curriculum, feedback from mentors and community, and the ultimate conclusion of pursuing a career in cancer research or biomedical sciences, will be measured as outcomes as part of the GA-YES program. This program will partner with rural high schools that may not offer advanced math and science courses, and where students may tend to have fewer opportunities to engage in extracurricular STEM activities, in part due to their distance from research universities and similar scientific training resources. To investigate this hypothesis, our Specific Aims are: Aim 1: To recruit high school students from six high schools located in rural Georgia to participate in a summer mentored cancer research training program at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Aim 2: To develop and test an accompanying broad curriculum focused on cancer science, research skills, and career development that engages students all year-long. Aim 3: To facilitate student outreach and engagement with communities to receive feedback related to research projects and educate community stakeholders about cancer prevention and research, including clinical trials. Aim 4: To evaluate short- and long-term program outcomes, student characteristics, and track student participants for 15 years post-enrollment to assess primary outcomes (pursuing a career in cancer research or biomedical sciences).The impact of this proposal will be in contributing long-term program evaluation with measurable outcomes for best practices in designing a curriculum, experiential learning, faculty and near-peer mentorship, and year-round student workshops that contribute to building a future workforce for cancer and biomedical research careers.
