Minnesota Advancing Science and Cancer EducatioN Discoveries (MASCEND)

University Of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

This renewal of our M-ASCEND Program to the NCI Youth Enjoy Science (YES) mechanism leverages 17 years of cancer research-focused mentored education activities at the University of Minnesota (UMN) Masonic Cancer Center and PHDR Program in the Department of Family Medicine. In the next cycle, we will implement our theoretically and community framed program, including a high school engagement year (HS Scholars), a high school summer internship and service-learning component (HS Interns), an undergraduate summer internship (Undergrad Interns), and teacher professional development. In our inaugural cycle, we successfully met our recruitment goals to train and mentor 300 high school and undergraduate students, and 20 high school science teachers. We engaged in continuous quality improvement resulting in high program satisfaction, and evidence of impact on targeted student outcomes (science self-efficacy, identity, and intrinsic utility) and on student persistence in sciences. Notable areas of innovation moving forward include: for HS Interns, a scaffolded research lab experience and service-learning with community mentors to maximize outreach opportunities and support science identity development; for Undergrad Interns, a longitudinal community based participatory research experience that complements their mentored lab training, and for teachers an intensive lab experience aligned to their priorities for building science curricula. We will integrate these innovations to support the academic persistence of 250 high school students attending ten high schools, 50 undergraduate students from across Minnesota, and the professional development of 20 teachers through a multicomponent program combining research mentorship, academic and professional development, and support for science-oriented identity development. Five cohorts of 50 high school students will be recruited to the HS Scholars program comprised of exciting hands-on experiences in Science Saturdays, virtual near-peer mentorship activities and parent programs. Ten students per cohort will be selected to continue to an intensive eight-week summer HS Internship including a mentored research component scaffolded for high school students, and a service learning experience. Ten undergraduate students per year will participate in a nine-week summer internship combining academic and professional development and hands on individual research mentorships. Finally, we will deepen the science-focused skills of 4 high school science teachers per year from collaborating schools through a hands-on research lab experience paired with support to develop curricula responsive to the needs of all learners. As evidenced by our program outcomes thus far, M-ASCEND successfully addresses NCI strategic priorities to strengthen the cancer research workforce and mitigate differential cancer outcomes.