Victor Corces, a professor in the
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences'
Biology Department, has been
named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Professor.
Corces is one of 20 research scientists
at 18 universities across the country to be
selected for this honor, which includes a $1
million grant to fund unique approaches to
inspire undergraduate students in the sciences.
"The scientists whom we have selected
are true pioneers, not only in their research
but also in their creative approaches and
dedication to teaching," said Thomas R.
Cech, HHMI president. "We are hopeful
that their educational experiments will
energize undergraduate science education
throughout the nation."
As an HHMI Professor, Corces will spearhead
a program called Research Internship
and Science Education, or RISE, which aims
to increase the number of students from disadvantaged
backgrounds studying biology.
Under the auspices of the program, promising
students from Baltimore City public
schools will work in Corces' lab, full time in
the summer and part time during the school
year. Graduate students and postdoctoral
fellows will supervise the students, who will
develop projects directly related to Corces'
research.
RISE students, he said, will use classical
genetics to determine the precise role of the
dTopors protein, which helps organize the
folding pattern of chromatin, the nucleic
acids and proteins in a cell's nucleus that
form chromosomes during cell division. The
way that fruit-fly chromatin divides may
subdivide the genome into discrete sections
or domains. One of these domains might
direct a stem cell to turn on the appropriate
set of genes to become, say, a muscle cell. As
students identify other chromatin structure
genes, they will use the tools and techniques
of molecular biology and biochemistry to
characterize them, Corces said.
"These students' projects would be things
I would be doing in my lab anyway,” he said.
"Now I can put all the students in one space,
working together, and their interactions can
reinforce each other.”
He also plans to have the high school
students take a lecture course designed specifically
for them.
"There are many intellectually gifted students
out there, but they lack the kind of mentoring
and role models that could really make
a difference,” Corces said. "In addition, they
don't always know what careers are available
in the sciences. Students need the inspiration
of tangible career goals to pursue biomedical
research when they reach college.”
Corces said he hopes that RISE will eventually
motivate five high school seniors each
year to apply for Johns Hopkins' Baltimore
Scholars Program, through which the university
provides full-tuition scholarships to
Baltimore City public school graduates who
gain admission.
"We need to increase the pipeline of
underprivileged students in research,”
Corces said. "Some students' financial or
social situations may make this seem like an
impossible goal. I'm trying to reach those
students and show them what is possible.”
The HHMI "million dollar professor” program
last awarded grants in 2002, when
the institute also awarded $20 million to
20 professors committed to bringing the
excitement of scientific discovery to the
undergraduate classroom. In addition to the
20 professors added to the program this year,
HHMI will give smaller renewal grants to
eight of the original 20 professors to help
them find ways to sustain the parts of their
programs that work best.
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