Project PREMAT 2004

Announcement and Application

Project PREMAT is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Its goal is to encourage minority students to pursue careers in biomedical research through to graduate school. The PREMAT project provides high school rising seniors and graduating seniors with a summer research experience and scholarship support to those students who attend Chicago State University. The research will be conducted in small groups and will focus on public health, nutrition and biological and environmental issues and epidemiological methodologies. The program will meet for four days a week during the summer before students start at Chicago State from June 21, 2004 to July 30, 2004, from 9AM to 3PM, Monday through Thursday of each week.

The program is open to rising Seniors in high school (sometimes rising Juniors will be accepted) who are interested in biomedical research careers and who might be interested in studying science at Chicago State after they graduate from high school. The second group is graduated seniors who want to study sciences leading to biomedical science careers primarily at Chicago State or other universities. High School graduates who attend Chicago State will be eligible for tuition scholarships and some additional monetary support from this program for attending Chicago State. Students who attend Chicago State and this program become eligible for a four-year tuition scholarship and opportunities to do undergraduate research in biomedical research areas. The tuition scholarship is conditional on maintaining a suitable grade point average. Students who enroll at CSU will be given priority in choosing participants.

The program will offer students an opportunity to assist an on-going project in ecological and public health assessment that is creating a database of public health measures and environmental emissions of industries in the South Chicago area. The results of the project are to be used in studying the impact of these emissions on public health and the environment. At the same time the participating students will learn skills and information that will help them succeed in their college careers. Students will learn about probability, some simple computer programs, simple applications of chemistry and/or biology, simple game theory, some math and statistics applications, writing, and carrying out research on the Internet. Principles of effective study and other skills that are used by successful students will also be developed. All participants will be required to submit applications to Chicago State and take all of the entrance examinations for this university.

Each student who participates full time will receive a stipend of $1500 for his or her work during the summer. Students who attend Chicago State will receive tuition scholarships and a will be eligible for an additional stipend during the fall semester. Students who wish to attend other colleges in the fall will still be required to submit applications to Chicago State in order to participate in the program. If a student cannot attend for the full time, or misses some of the participation, the stipend will be decreased accordingly. The stipend is calculated on the number of hours of work and the quality of the work that is being carried out by the students.

The requirements for participation in this PREMAT program for this summer are:

1. Eligibility for acceptance for fall admission by Chicago State, or submission of application for admission. (Minimum ACT score for CSU admission is 17)(For Juniors applications may be submitted after the program begins if necessary). A copy of ACT test scores and/or high school grades should be submitted with application.

2. Submit a written essay (one page) that describes the career interests of the student and shows an interest in a career that would include graduate school and biomedical research.

3. A letter of recommendation from a teacher or counselor indicating that the student is open to considering a career in biomedical fields, is academically sound, and is committed to learning and attending college. The letter should include some assessment of whether Chicago State could be that college. Students attending CSU will be preferred, but such attendance is not required for participation in the project.

4. A parental or guardian signature granting permission to participate in the program and granting permission to provide emergency care in case of an accident or medical emergency.

5. Submission of the attached application form.

Applicants should fill out the application form on the next page and should submit it to Professor Samuel Bowen at the Department of Chemistry and Physics, Williams Science Center, Chicago State. Faxes are permissible at 773-995-3809. Phone inquiries which leave voice messages at 773-995-3804 will be followed up quickly and email to s-bowen@csu.edu will receive quick response. The program will include up to 20 students.(up to 10 rising seniors, at least 10 graduating seniors)