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Highlights from PhUn Week 2008 APS/NIDDK Minority Travel Fellowship Awards Program |
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About 200 APS physiologists volunteered their expertise and
time in reaching out to more than 7,300 students last November during
Physiology Understanding Week 2008, the Society’s member-based annual
outreach program to K-12 classrooms (http://www.PhUnWeek.org).
APS members partnered with more than 70 teachers and science educators from
across North America to develop engaging presentations and interactive
demonstrations for students at all grade levels in 44 PhUn Week events. All
events with the primary APS member and lead teacher coordinators are listed
in Table 1, but note that there are many more dedicated volunteers with each
event site not listed on the table. The following PhUn Week events are a
sample of the outreach efforts that took place in November 2008. For the second consecutive year, the Boston Children’s Museum kicked off PhUn Week 2008 under the leadership of APS member Andrea Gwosdow, research or health-related volunteers from the Boston area, and museum staff. Families were engaged in listening to their heart beat, finding their pulse, understanding the knee jerk reflex, examining x-ray films, and experiencing the museum’s KidPower Health Exhibit. Additionally, VWR Education generously loaned anatomical skeleton models for demonstration. Also for the second consecutive year, ADInstruments, Inc. loaned PowerLab equipment to Jessica Clark (Washington Univ. School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO) for her PhUn Week events in her hometown of Albuquerque, NM. Bina Joe (Univ. of Toledo College of Medicine) coordinated a classroom visit with a team of physiologists, followed by a campus visit coinciding with the Ohio Physiological Society Meeting 2008. At the meeting, a panel of six physiologists led question and answer discussions with approximately 80 high school students. Heddwen Brooks and Zoe Cohen (Univ. of Arizona, Tucson) coordinated their PhUn Week event to coincide with the Southern Arizona Math, Science, and Technology Funfest. Funfest is an annual three day math and science extravaganza held at the Tucson Convention Center which aims to introduce fourth through eighth graders to diverse math, science, and engineering principles using real-life perspectives. More than 30 students and faculty from the Department of Physiology and the Physiological Sciences Graduate Program at the university volunteered over two days reaching more than 2,400 students. Margaret Shain, an APS Research Teacher and Mentor/Instructor, in partnership with Jeff Falcone (Univ. of Louisville) and two of his graduate students, coordinated a peer teaching PhUn Week event in New Albany, IN. She guided her 42 eighth grade students at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in PhUn Week exercises, such as taking a wrist pulse and learning aspects of the heart, circulation, health, exercise and nutrition. The following week her troop of students engaged 30 kindergartners rotating through different stations set up throughout the school’s gymnasium. The experience was exciting not only for the kindergartners, but also for the middle school students in learning how to communicate and express science concepts to younger children. All event sites received educational resources for students such as the Science of Life, Physiology Research in Action comic books, career brochures, and promotional memorabilia such as squeezy anatomical hearts, key rings, and drawstring sport packs. The team of presenting volunteers received PhUn Week 2008 t-shirts. Additionally, APS members and lead teacher coordinators received hats for their efforts in planning their local PhUn Week events. The success of this APS member-based program is a testament to the dedication of our members who make an impact on the next generation of research scientists by reaching out to young students. Plans are developing for PhUn Week 2009 during the week of November 2. Although the theme highlights the physiology of exercise and fitness, APS members are welcome to focus on other areas of physiology. For more information, be sure to join us for coffee and a light breakfast at the PhUn Week training session on Sunday, April 19 at EB 2009 (9:00-11:00 am, Hilton Riverside, Grand Salon Room 15). Send an email to: phunweek@the-aps.org to claim a free gift at the session, and/or for notification of program updates on the www.PhUnWeek.org website. For other information, contact Mel Limson in the Education Office at mlimson@the-aps.org.
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Since its inception in 1987, the APS/NIDDK Minority Travel
Fellowship Program has awarded more than 730 travel fellowships to over 500
undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students and to faculty members at
minority institutions. It is an effective program model that capitalizes on
a critical impact point where professional societies can make a real
difference—catalyzing the development of important professional networks for
undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral minority students in physiology
and biomedical research that can increase their retention in these fields. The APS, on behalf of the Porter Physiology Development Committee, is pleased to congratulate the following awardees of the APS/NIDDK Minority Travel Fellowship Awards to attend Experimental Biology 2009:
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