The University of Michigan School of Dentistry in conjunction with the National Institute of Health provides summer research opportunities for disadvantaged students who have finished two years of high school. This program is intended for students who have an interest in science, and who have the intention of going on to college to pursue further science studies.
Students are assigned to individual instructors to do dental or clinical research. As research assistants, the students are required to keep a journal of their daily activities in preparation for the final paper and presentation. The final paper is to be a summary of their summer work experience, to be presented before the instructors.
The Exploration of Oral Science Program has ten positions available for students and three for teachers. Student positions pay approximately $6.75/hr. and participants should expect to work 30-40 hours per week. The program will commence in late June and conclude in August. You must have completed two years of high school and have completed at least one year of chemistry and biology with a B average or better.

1) a completed application, including a personal statement stating your interest in the field of sciences
2) a copy of your transcript

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer and we encourage applications from women and minorities.

STUDENTS
A disadvantaged high school student, for purposes of this program, is one who is enrolled in high school during the 1999-2000 academic year and qualifies under the criteria listed on the attached application. Disadvantaged students who will graduate from high school in 2000 are also eligible. A student who participated in the program previously may participate again in 2000, provided the person is still a high school student as defined above and qualifies under existing criteria (see application).

It is recommended that recruitment and selection of students emphasize factors of the students' motivation, ability and scholastic aptitude and accomplishments. In addition, consideration should be given to science teachers' recommendations and where possible the student's degree of potential commitment to a health research center.

The University of Michigan School of Dentistry, including the Exploration of Oral Science program holds no responsibility for room and board during a students' employment period.

TEACHERS
To qualify, science teachers must have a significant number of disadvantaged students in their classroom. Participation in this program has been extended to include science teachers in elementary through high school. Selection should be based on experience and teaching responsibilities, level of interest in participating in a research program, expected impact on their teaching programs, ability to encourage disadvantaged students to pursue scientific careers, and future plans for continued interaction with the research institution.

Teachers should be assigned to an investigator who can design an appropriate summer research project to update teachers' skills in modern research tools and techniques and broaden their knowledge of scientific concepts. The program should present methodology which can be adapted to teaching high school students and should help teachers bring the excitement of modern research to their own classrooms.

USE OF FUNDS
The mechanism of support for this program will be the NIH grant-in-aid (S03). Awards will be for one year. Support will be provided at a level of $2,000 for each student apprentice, $3,000 for a pre-service teacher, and $5,000 for each science teacher. Each participant will also receive $250 for research expenses. No indirect costs will be paid. Direct support must be salary; stipends are not allowed.

Each student (apprentice) and teacher should receive full-time research experience during the summer, preferable for eight weeks but in no case less than four weeks. Each participant is required to present their project at the end of the program. Selected participants may be asked to present their project for judging during Research Day, a School of Dentistry event which occurs each February.