NIH Funds Summer Lab Experience

Want to work in a lab like this over the summer?
Photo credit: Adam Coster

Once upon a time (a couple years ago) I was a teacher. And speaking from my experience both as a student and instructor, there could really be no better investment in the future of research in this country than to expose more teachers and students to the practical way that science is applied in real life.

So I couldn't have been happier when NIH Acting Director Raynard Kington announced at the National Forum last week the agency's plan to route some of it's $10.4 billion from the recovery package into a program that gives high school students and science educators a chance to work in a research lab over the summer.

The program not only opens up job opportunities within labs, but will expose young people (and those teaching them) to real-world research. It'll both stimulate the economy and invest in the future - two of the major goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

If you currently work in an NIH funded lab, I strongly encourage you to check out this exciting opportunity to both advocate for your own work, improve your science communication, educate and inspire others. Also, if you are/know a science teacher or interested high school student, tell them to look for opportunities coming to a lab near them.

Details about how to get involved are available through the NIH website.