UB’s Mini-Med School Creates Special Health-Science Enrichment Program For High-School Students

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Juniors and seniors studying advanced biology in Williamsville and Lockport high schools will be teaching classes this spring in cancer, infectious disease, cardiology and reconstructive surgery as part of an innovative, high-school science-enrichment program created by the popular mini-medical school at UB.

The idea for such a program originated with science teachers from the two schools who had attended mini-medical-school sessions from their inception. Their goal was to bring the health sciences alive for high-school students and to interest them in careers in the field. A secondary goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of such a program.

Mini-med-school directors Harry Sultz, D.D.S., and Alan Reynard, Ph.D., with the aid of a grant from the UB Division of Public Service and Urban Affairs, developed a four-part lecture series on subjects chosen by the students who signed up to participate.

The lectures were held in October and November in Farber Hall on the UB South Campus, site of regular mini-med-school lectures. A total of 76 students attended.

As always, the lectures were taught by senior faculty: Stephen Edge, M.D., clinical associate professor of surgery (cancer); Alan Lesse, M.D., associate professor of medicine, pharmacology and toxicology, and microbiology (infectious diseases); Susan Graham, M.D., associate professor of medicine/cardiology (heart disease), and Jerald R. Sultz, M.D., clinical assistant professor of surgery (trauma and reconstructive surgery).

Hoping to garner interest and support from parents, Sultz, who will retire this month as a professor of social and preventive medicine, and Reynard, professor of pharmacology and toxicology, required each student to bring at least one parent to the lectures.

"Having the parents involved will provide support for the students at home," said Sultz. "Supportive parents also help teachers guide students into their choice of careers, and our ultimate goal is to interest kids in science and science careers."

The second phase of the program will take place in the high schools this spring. Sultz and Reynard are duplicating materials used during the lectures to pass along to the student participants. Throughout the spring, the students will present the information to sophomores at their schools.

In a follow-up mini-research project, the participants' science teachers will compare students' grades before and after taking part in the program to determine if their participation was related to improved academic performance.

Nick Hejailey, Barbara Slootsky and George Webb are coordinating the project for the Williamsville School District. Lockport faculty participating are Fred Wascovich and Kevin Clark.

Hejailey, Williamsville's director of science, said both teachers and students have been very receptive to the program. "We're trying to set up a cycle to perpetuate interest in entering one of the health sciences. Having the high-school students come back and present to the 10th graders is a crucial part. Next year, we hope these 10th graders will attend the mini-med school, if it continues, and we hope it does."

Kevin Clark of Lockport said he and his students are very happy with the program. "We are not adjacent to UB, so we are thrilled this has evolved. The format is comfortable, as well as challenging. I give a lot of credit to the faculty. They really know how to work with these kids.

"There's no doubt in my mind that what I'm seeing as a result of this program is a real interest in higher education," he noted.

Clark's students will team-teach the material to sophomores in the spring. "This part is a real plus. It gives them a chance to share their knowledge and to take on the responsibility of doing the teaching," he said, adding that he hopes the presentations will yield the added benefit of recruiting students for advanced-placement biology.

Sultz and Reynard hope to expand the program into more schools if this pilot program proves successful.