Release date: June 9, 2006
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Emory Receives $1.9 Million HHMI Grant for Science Education

Emory University is one of 50 research universities in the nation to receive a share of $86.4 million for undergraduate science education from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Emory's four-year, $1.9 million grant marks the fifth consecutive time since 1989 the university has received the HHMI education grant, one of only a few universities to do so.

Emory will use the grant to support ongoing student research, mentoring and education initiatives as well as new program development and community outreach.

"HHMI's continued investment in Emory's science education initiatives over the past 15 years has been a catalyst for progressive and lasting change in undergraduate science education and outreach at Emory," says Pat Marsteller, director of Emory's Center for Science Education, which oversees and develops all of the HHMI-funded programs. "The grants are critical to our continued success, and have supported wide-ranging initiatives that have attracted more students to science careers and enhanced the knowledge of all students during a time when science literacy is vital."

The HHMI grant will support Emory's SURE program — the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience — and allow it to include freshmen and sophomores. The Center for Science Education also will develop certificate programs in teaching and mentoring for graduate students and postdoctoral associates, and create undergraduate interdisciplinary science courses and research opportunities in strategic areas such as neuroscience, nanotechnology, cancer biology and genomics.

The funds also will provide new opportunities for graduate students, undergraduates and faculty to work with teachers to improve middle and high school science, including summer internships for local teachers in research and curriculum development. Emory will continue to provide significant support for all of the HHMI initiatives as well, which will help to ensure their long-term success, says Marsteller.

HHMI has supported undergraduate science education at the nation's colleges and universities since 1988. Through its undergraduate grants, the institute has provided 247 institutions of higher learning with nearly $700 million for programs that include undergraduate research opportunities; new faculty, courses and labs; teaching and mentoring training; and work with precollege students and teachers.

A nonprofit medical research organization, HHMI was established in 1953 by the aviator-industrialist. The institute, headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md., is one of the largest philanthropies in the world, with an endowment of $14.8 billion in 2005. HHMI spent $483 million in support of biomedical research and $80 million for support of a variety of science education and other grants programs in last year.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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