Grant Will Bring Opportunities In Genetics and Biotech

A Huntsville research center’s share of a National Science Foundation grant will bring chances for high-tech hands-on learning to middle and high school students.

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology’s share of over $30 million in NSF funding will help cover three years of STEM education open to north Alabama high schoolers and middle schoolers at eight Huntsville and Madison County schools, the institute recently announced.

“This is an incredible opportunity for our Educational program to bring life-changing STEM education to students across Huntsville and Madison County in an innovative way,” Kelly East, vice president of educational outreach at HudsonAlpha, said in a news release. “We cannot wait to help students recognize their potential and give them access to new STEM opportunities.”

The award will help fund experiential learning programs in genomics and biotechnology, the institute said. It will continue funding for the existing LABS — Launching Aspiring Biotechnology Students — program, a yearlong program open to high school across north Alabama to build biotech skills, scientific content and confidence working in the lab. Funding will also be used to provide more participant support, reducing barriers to participation among underrepresented students, according to HudsonAlpha.

The award will also fund a program for middle school students aimed at building biotch skills, scientific content and STEM confidence. The SPARK program will engage seventh and eight graders in a monthslong after-school club on local middle school campuses. Participating students will be invited to a culminating capstone day experience on HudsonAlpha’s campus next summer. SPARK will be launched at eight Huntsville and Madison County schools over three years, with a goal of future expansion.

“A key part of this program is to let students do authentic experiments that help researchers happening in real time at HudsonAlpha,” East said. “These students will become true student scientists in collaboration with HudsonAlpha research scientists.”

The award is HudsonAlpha’s second under the NSF ExLENT grant program. Last year it was awarded a grant to develop its Biotech Launch program to train up people working on an associate degree or certificate in biotechnology.

HudsonAlpha’s Educational Outreach efforts include in-school, after-school and summer programs for K-12 students, professional learning opportunities for K-12 educators, and biotechnology workforce development initiatives, digital and hands-on teaching tools, and educational events for the public. The institute’s education mission is to inspire tomorrow’s bioscience workforce while building a more genomics-literate society, according to HudsonAlpha.