The Hauptman-Woodward Institute (HWI) offers the opportunity for high school students to gain a tremendous experience researching evolution and bioinformatics through the High School Apprenticeship Program. The program is led by Dr. William L. Duax, HWI’s H.A. Hauptman Distinguished Scientist. Dr. Duax is also a biology professor at the University at Buffalo, with a highly extensive research background, especially involving genetic coding. Spinning off of a City Honors School program in place since 2006 that was created to introduce students to medical research, Dr. Duax’s Apprentice Program reached an enrollment peak as 30 students from various schools in Buffalo took a course learning how to use state-of-the-art computer programs heavily used for biological analysis, as well as unique programs developed at HWI.
Since 2006, Dr. Duax has had students spend a great deal of time in his lab, developing their research skills as they unlocked the intricacies of molecular biology through experiments. Not only did the students get to identify research goals and perform the research, they also have been given the opportunity to present their findings at science research fairs. The students can be qualified to be coauthors of abstracts published in national and international leading scientific journals. Many of Dr. Duax’s students have attained scholarships and have gone on to choose career paths involving medical research.
Three levels of participation are available to the students who have gone through the wp-contentlication process, afterward being accepted:
-Students at City Honors Schools can attend the program all day every Friday throughout the school year.
-Students from any Buffalo area school can attend the program one or two afternoons after school throughout the school year
-Students can choose the summer internship option which takes place 5 days a week for up to 12 weeks.
Students from 15 schools in Buffalo worked on projects last summer analyzing proteins. As the program grows in its popularity, the need to accommodate the demand continues to increase. Dr. Duax opened the program to an 8th grader last year, and this year he is expected to have 3 more middle school students participate. The efforts to expose students to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields continues to excite interest in students at an early age, increasing their opportunities to become the next generation of doctors and researchers that help advance the medical industry. Applicants are interviewed, given a tour of HWI research facilities, and receive an overview of the goals of the research project, and learn how they will help reach those goals.
Because of the number of wp-contentlicants into the summer program, more than 40 students are expected to participate with the help of donated computers and printers for the summer of 2012 group. As the students learn to wp-contently the learned research skills, present complex research in layman terms to various audiences, and continue to explore ways to break down the genome structure, they also get the opportunity to work in the midst of a cutting-edge Medical Campus full of experts, entrepreneurs, and researchers with a world of knowledge. To-date, there has not been one student who has been turned away from the program. Although increased demand and limited computer resources may change the acceptance standards, the support of donors could change the number of students the program services dramatically. For more information on how to donate resources to enable the program to increase or to find out more about the program, please contact Dr. Duax at 716.898.8616 or duax@hwi.buffalo.edu.