Center nurtures science-career pathways for students of color

Photo by Sara Cotto Students Valencia Davis (left), Jorie Jones, Natalie Guerrero, Tekara Gainey and Ta'Tiana Blue are working in Center labs this summer through Temple University's Physician Scientist Training Program.

Center labs are opening doors of opportunities for science-minded students from backgrounds long underrepresented in the field.

"The idea behind it is to get people who have programs on campus that are serving underrepresented scientists to talk to each other and build a community of research mentors," said Dr. Wendy Law of the Public Health Sciences Division. As chair of the Minority Scientist Recruitment and Retention Coalition on Campus, Law networks with programs across the city and the nation, including Temple University's Physician Scientist Training Program — which recruits interested students at age 12 or 13.

Last week, the Center hosted a reception that gave the students currently on campus from Temple University an opportunity to share their internship experiences with students from Seattle's Rainier Scholars program; University of Washington's Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) program; the Center for Systems Biology; and the Seattle Summer Youth Employment Program.

Read more about the interns from Temple University in the August issue of Center News.

» Read more news from Center News Weekly.