The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has named eight state science teachers as 2007 Foundation Scholars.
The teachers, all middle- and high school instructors, were selected from a statewide applicant pool and will participate in “Biology is a Village,” a blended discussion and hands-on laboratory class at OMRF. They will receive a $2,000 stipend and $1,000 in classroom and laboratory supplies at the conclusion of the four-week summer course.
The course will include experiments relating to chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, structural biology and bioinformatics, as well as general medical science. The program aims to help improve science education in Oklahoma by providing teachers with novel techniques to take back to their classrooms and share with their students.
“Teachers who complete the course tell us again and again how much this program energizes their teaching and curriculum planning,” said OMRF’s Timothy Mather, Ph.D., who serves as course instructor for the Foundation Scholar program. “They learn from each other, share ideas, ask questions and refresh themselves in a setting outside their classrooms, all of which lead to greater enthusiasm for teaching and, perhaps most importantly, richer educational experiences for their students.”
Teachers selected as 2007 OMRF Foundation Scholars are:
Andrea Acre, Elk City, Elk City High School
Amy Bymaster, Chickasha, Amber-Pocasset High School
Karen Jennings, El Reno, El Reno High School
Jennifer Lynch, Edmond, New John Marshall High School
Cynthia Moen, Weatherford, Hydro-Eakly High School
Michelle Shelite, Yukon, Mayfield Middle School
Karleta Wheat, Ada, Milburn Public Schools
Julieta Zesiger, Oklahoma City, Casady School
Since 1988, the Foundation Scholar program has provided more than 75 Oklahoma educators the opportunity to work and learn in OMRF laboratories.
About OMRF:
Chartered in 1946, OMRF (www.omrf.org) is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human disease. Its scientists focus on such critical research areas as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, lupus and cardiovascular disease. OMRF’s scientists, who include a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, hold more than 500 U.S. and international patents.
