UNH Today

A major new grant to UNH aims to develop an effective workforce for New Hampshire’s expanding regenerative medicine and biotechnology industries. The project, called NH CREATES the Future: the NH Collaborative for Regenerative Medicine Education and Training for Engineers and Scientists of the Future (NH CREATES), 会吸引曼彻斯特的初高中教师和学生吗, Nashua, Portsmouth, Dover and Barrington as well as Lawrence, Mass., to develop a pipeline to support the state’s biotechnology workforce needs.

NH CREATES is funded by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) of the National Institutes of Health.

“NH CREATES is a training mechanism to supply the regenerative medicine and biotechnology industry with an educated workforce pipeline so that, in turn, 这一新兴产业可以发挥其治疗疾病的潜力.”

“NH CREATES is a training mechanism to supply the regenerative medicine and biotechnology industry with an educated workforce pipeline so that, in turn, 这一新兴产业可以发挥其治疗疾病的潜力,” says Carmela Amato-Wierda, associate professor of materials science at UNH and principal investigator on the grant. “We want to educate middle and high school students about regenerative medicine and instill excitement about how we need their future contributions to propel this field forward in the years to come.” Amato-Wierda notes that 78% of New Hampshire’s biotechnology industry reports a shortage of skilled workers, 目前25%的生物技术劳动力年龄在55岁以上.

“New Hampshire is a leader in technology and innovation because we know how important it is to invest in STEM learning from an early age. This grant is a testament to the diligence of our higher education institutions to make good on that effort and build out a 21st century workforce,新罕布什尔州国会代表团说. “We are excited to see the University of New Hampshire receive this award and are thrilled for students and their educators in Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Dover and Barrington who will have the opportunity to participate in this program. We will continue to advocate for federal funding that boosts our state profile in technological discovery and empowers the next generation of New Hampshire scientists and engineers.”

NH CREATES will facilitate collaboration action among middle and high schools, 高等教育和该地区的生物技术产业——包括农业 先进再生制造研究所(ARMI), the Manchester-based national hub for the regenerative medicine and biotechnology industry — to enhance STEM learning and career pathways with several initiatives.  

A two-week summer institute will provide teacher training to middle and high school teachers to develop and deliver formal curriculum about core biomedical concepts relevant to regenerative medicine and biotechnology. “The best way to educate students is to invite their teachers into the conversation and collaboratively work with them,” says Amato-Wierda.

In addition, NH CREATES will build on UNH Tech Camp, 这是一套旨在提高STEM素养的青少年暑期项目 that have been directed by Amato-Wierda since 2015. 新的助学金将为40名代表性不足的学生提供奖学金, 农村或经济上处于不利地位的青年.

Finally, 该基金旨在创建一个生物技术STEM生态系统, higher education and K-12 partners work collaboratively to assist students as they work their way from middle school to high school to college to biotechnology careers.

The five-year SEPA grant, for $1.2 million, 将提高STEM教育的人数增至1,400 students each year from the state’s most ethnically diverse school districts. NH CREATES还将从马萨诸塞州劳伦斯市招募人才.) Family Development Charter School, 这家公司100%是拉丁裔，与UNH科技营有多年的合作关系.

NH CREATES will engage faculty and staff from higher education institutions across the state to advise teachers participating in the summer institute. Kelley Thomas, the Hubbard Professor of Genomics at UNH and director of UNH’s Hubbard Center for Genome Studies, is co-principal investigator. 托马斯还指导生物信息学和基因组学核心 NH-INBRE (IDeA生物医学研究卓越网络), a NIGMS-sponsored network of biomedical research and research training in New Hampshire. 来自全国各地NH-INBRE机构的教师都参与其中, 包括永利app新版本官网地址达勒姆分校和曼彻斯特分校的教员, Keene State College, Dartmouth College, and Franklin Pierce University.