Historical Document:
June 5, 2007
Content Source:
Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities (OMHD) |
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Summary of Minority Student
Training
Program Activities
Fiscal Year (FY) 2006
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The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) and the Office of Minority Health and Health
Disparities (OMHD) support summer and academic year training and
enrichment programs for minority students through external
partnerships with the Hispanic Serving Health Professions Schools
(HSHPS), the Association of Minority Health Professions School’s (AMHPS)
Minority Health Professions Foundation (MHPF), Kennedy Krieger
Institute (KKI), the Public Health Sciences Institute (PHSI) of
Morehouse College, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
(HACU), and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). |
In FY 2006, the programs, which are supported by
CIOs, state and local health departments, academia, national and
community-based organizations, and international research partners,
placed a total of 117 minority and American Indian students in the
summer internship/fellowship programs. Each student was paired with
mentors who volunteered their time to help develop tomorrow’s public
health leaders. In addition, 29 middle and high school students
participated in the Starlab program managed by MHPF in collaboration
with Clark Atlanta
University, 40 students are currently enrolled in the Masters in
Public Health (MPH) program at the Morehouse School of Medicine, and
more than 700 racially and ethnically diverse students attended the
MHPF Annual Symposium on Career Opportunities in Biomedical Sciences. OMHD would like to take this opportunity to
thank the CIO leaders, other organizations, institutions, and
mentors who provided support to develop the students’ research and
leadership skills. |
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Synopsis of Training Programs with
External Partners: |
Minority Health Professions Foundation (MHPF)
was established in 1983 as a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization to
support the mission of AMHPS and its nine member institutions. The
association serves to promote optimum health among poor and minority
populations by engaging the collaborative resources of minority
health professions schools – schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy,
dentistry and veterinary medicine. MHPF administers the following
five training and enrichment programs under Program Announcement
(PA) AA131: |
1. |
Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious
Diseases Fellowship Program is supported primarily by the
National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and the National
Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention (NCHSTP). It is designed to
increase the students’ knowledge of public health and public health
career paths and to introduce underrepresented minorities to careers
in public health and infectious diseases. The Ferguson Fellowship program is operated by MHPF. A program
evaluation conducted for NCID by the Research Triangle Institute
International surveyed all former Ferguson Fellows who had been in
the program from 1999-2004 (a total of 150 fellows). The March
2006 evaluation study report revealed that 15% of the respondents (107
former Fellows) became employed full time
at CDC. In the summer of 2006, there were 17 Ferguson students. |
2. |
Public Health Summer Fellows (PHSF) is
operated by Morehouse School of Medicine in collaboration with MHPF.
PHSF is an undergraduate program designed to expose students to
community-based opportunities and careers in public health. This
year PHSF was also supported by NCHSTP. There were 10 summer
fellows this summer. |
3. |
Starlab is operated by MHPF in collaboration
with Clark Atlanta University and targets middle school and high
school students to expose and prepare them for careers in public
health and biomedical sciences. Starlab was started at CDC by MHPF,
the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black
Chemists and Chemical Engineers, and minority scientists at the
National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH). Students conduct
hands-on laboratory experiments on selected topics in chemistry,
biology, medical technology and engineering. They also present
research findings and have the opportunity to network and interact
with minority scientists. Historically, Starlab was supported by
the NCEH and the Office of the Director. This year it was supported
by OMHD, NCHSTP, and the Coordinating Office for Terrorism
Preparedness and Emergency Response. Twenty-nine students participated in Starlab. |
4. |
MPH Program is operated by the Morehouse
School of Medicine with support from CDC. The program prepares
individuals to organize and implement programs to improve the
health, quality of life and well being of communities and people,
through public health education, research and service. The
Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, housed in
the Louis W. Sullivan National Center for Primary Care, runs the MPH
program which has produced 97 minority public health graduates since
its inception. There are 40 students enrolled in the MPH program
for the 2006 Fall semester. |
5. |
Annual Symposium on Career Opportunities in
Biomedical Sciences (Symposium) – The Symposium is a
collaborative effort between AMHPS, MHPF, CDC, Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, the National
Institutes of Health, and other public and private agencies. It is
designed to encourage college, and junior and senior high school
students to pursue careers in biomedical and public health
sciences. Each year the Symposium is hosted by an AMHPS member
school. In FY 2006, the Symposium which attracted approximately 700
racially and ethnically diverse students from 20 states across the
United States was hosted by Texas Southern University in Houston,
Texas. Preliminary results of a retrospective and longitudinal
evaluation to determine its impact indicate that the symposium is
having a significant impact on students’ career choices–particularly
their knowledge about careers in public health and their awareness
of employment opportunities at CDC. |
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Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI)
is a comprehensive resource for children with disabilities,
offering patient care/clinical services, training/education,
research and community services. KKI is affiliated with Johns
Hopkins University, and is an internationally recognized facility
dedicated to improving the lives of children and adolescents with
developmental disabilities. KKI administers the newest addition to
OMHD’s training partnerships, the Research Initiatives for Student
Enhancement (RISE) program under PA AA131. |
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RISE is a collaborative program with Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Johns Hopkins School
of Medicine, and HBCUs to provide research experience, education and
training for HBCU graduate and medical students who are interested
in pursuing research in the field of public health. With this
partnership, OMHD is able to expand the number of internships for
minority students and focus on areas of research which will
contribute to the elimination of health disparities involving
persons with developmental disabilities. This summer 12 students
participated in the inaugural RISE internship program. |
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Public Health Science Institute
(PHSI) of Morehouse College – PHSI was established in May of
1988 as an academic program designed to formulate and implement
strategies that would lead to positive health outcomes for African
Americans. The PHSI cooperative agreement program is operated by
the Morehouse College, Division of Science and Mathematics. The
program operates three major components under PA 05053: (1) Student
Training – Undergraduate Internships, Graduate Fellows, Associates,
and Post Doctoral Fellowships; (2) Academic – Public Health Minor,
Public Health Awareness Conference, and Atlanta University Center (AUC)
Public Health Careers Society; and (3) Faculty Development –
Research Center on Health Disparities. PHSI’s programs are
supported by OMHD, the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), NCHSTP, the National Institute for
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and other public and private
institutions. The PHSI student training programs include the
following 3 programs: |
1. |
Project IMHOTEP is a summer internship
program designed to increase the knowledge and skills of
undergraduate students who are rising juniors, seniors or recent
graduates in the areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, and
occupational safety and health. This summer, 32 students
participated in Project IMHOTEP, including nine students who were
assigned to NIOSH laboratories, one assigned to Milacron/Cimcool
Global Industrial Fluids Division (Cincinnati, Ohio); four assigned to Carnegie-Mellon
University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Department of Statistics, and
eight students who participated under the auspices of PHSI’s
International Exchange Program with the National Institute of
Medical Research in Tanzania. From 1981 to 2005, according to PHSI
evaluation and tracking data, of 343 former Project IMHOTEP interns,
155 or 45% are public health practitioners. In addition, 15 of
these students, or 4.4% are currently working at CDC as a permanent
employee, Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer or contractor. |
2. |
PHSI Research Internships are two-year
academic internship opportunities that offer comprehensive public
health research experience to students from various academic
disciplines. One student from each of the AUC institutions is
selected to participate in the program in the second semester of
their sophomore year. During the next two academic years, selected
students serve as interns, and they are required to complete a minor
in public health. As part of the research experience, interns work
on a year-long research project with CDC personnel and present their
research at various public health conferences. There were six PHSI
interns in FY 2006. |
3. |
Graduate Fellows, Associates and Post-Doctoral
Fellowships: Under these programs, doctoral and masters-level
graduate students assist with instruction of PHSI courses, design
surveys, complete data entry and conduct small analyses for PHSI
projects. The students also engage in public health research with
CDC scientists. This component of the PHSI program is supported
primarily by NCCDPHP and NCHSTP. In FY 2006, there were three
students serving in these graduate level positions–one Post Doctoral
Fellow and two Research Associates. |
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HSHPS, the National
Association of Hispanic-Serving Health Professions Schools, is a
501(c)3 non-profit organization that was established in 1996 with
support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in
response to Executive Order 12900, “Educational Excellence for
Hispanic Americans.” The organization was launched as a part of the
“Hispanic Agenda for Action Initiative” and is the only national
organization representing Hispanic-serving health professions
schools. Today, HSHPS represents 22 medical schools and five schools
of public health nationwide serving over 40% of Hispanic medical
school graduates and 15.5% of Hispanic graduates of schools of
public health in the continental United States as well as a broader
network of more than 300 researchers who address health issues among
Hispanics. The HSHPS student training program is comprised of three
different initiatives: |
1. |
Summer Students Internship Program is
designed to foster the development of public health and research
skills of Hispanic medical and public health students in order to
increase the number of students who pursue careers in epidemiology,
preventive medicine, and public health research. The internship is
an intensive 10-week experience with CDC staff at the central
offices of the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia. There were eight students
in the Summer Internship program in FY 2006. |
2. |
HSHPS US-Mexico Border Student Internship Program
is a 10-week traineeship that places students at one of the HSHPS
member institutions in the border region. The program provides each
trainee with an increased understanding of public health along the
U.S.-Mexico border through practical experiences with up to one
half of program time to be spent in the field. Also, each trainee is
matched, according to the area of interest outlined in his or her
application, with a mentor who specializes in border health. In
addition, the trainee will be exposed to a variety of different
projects being conducted along the U.S.-Mexico border. There were
seven students in the program in FY 2006. |
3. |
Student Fellowship Program is a six-month
traineeship which provides the student with an intensive experience
with CDC staff in Atlanta offices as well as other satellite offices
within CDC/ATSDR and NIOSH. There were five fellows in FY 2006. |
Since 2002, HSHPS has supported 73 students in its
training programs. |
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Other Training Programs with
External Partners: |
OMHD collaborates with the Atlanta Human Resources
Center to support the Hispanic Association of Colleges and
Universities (HACU), and the American Indian Science and Engineering
Society (AISES) programs to further broaden opportunities for
Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students.
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1. |
AISES is a summer program that provides
qualified AI/AN college students with opportunities to explore
potential federal service careers. The internship is a student
learning work experience to gain knowledge and understanding of
federal agencies and their operations. During the summer of FY
2006, there were six AI/AN students at CDC. The AISES program
was supported by ATSDR, NCCDPHP, NCHSTP and NIOSH. Five students were
placed in Atlanta CIOs, and one was placed at NIOSH Cincinnati. |
2. |
HACU is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization
that represents more than 300 colleges and universities committed to
successful Latino/Hispanic education in the United States, Puerto
Rico, Latin America and Spain. HACU is a national educational
association that represents Hispanic Serving Institution’s (HSIs).
In collaboration with several federal agencies and private
corporations, HACU recruits college students for a paid summer and
semester long internships. The internships vary in length and
provide the student with direct experience in the federal government and
private corporate sectors. The HACU program was supported by
the Office of the Director, Office of the Chief Operating Officer,
Coordinating Center for Health Information and Services, NCCDPHP,
National Center for Health Statistics, NCID, NCHSTP, and NIOSH. In FY 2006, there were 11 students in
the HACU program at CDC. |
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