2025 CATALYST Teacher Recruitment
MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS: PAID SUMMER CANCER RESEARCH-COUPLED STEM CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
Background:
The University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) received a grant from the National Cancer Institute Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities for the CAncer Training Affecting Lives of Young Scientists and Teachers (CATALYST) program. CATALYST will serve as the cancer-focused arm of the groundbreaking UMB CURE program that began in 2015 to provide broad STEM enrichment and wraparound support to middle school students and their families from West Baltimore communities. Our long-term goal is to excite the next generation of researchers and caregivers about careers in STEM fields and provide them with experiences that foster their success to ultimately produce a biomedical workforce that reflects the diversity of our country.
Program Description and Teacher Roles:
Selected teachers will commit to two years of participation with a minimum duration of 3 months/year (comprised of summer research and curriculum/outreach components). Teachers will be matched with UMGCCC faculty and a mentoring team to design and conduct a summer research project that is suitable for development into a middle school (MS) cancer research workshop and community outreach education. In addition to regular meetings with research mentoring teams, teachers will meet with the UMB CURE curriculum coordinator for input on workshop and outreach material development. Workshops will be implemented as part of the fall after-school curriculum. Teachers will also work with students to develop community health information brochures and presentations from workshop outcomes. In the second summer, teachers have the option of remaining with their year 1 research mentor or changing; there are benefits to both options so CATALYST leadership will work with teachers to choose the path that best aligns with their goals.
In addition to research and curriculum development, teachers will have the opportunity to participate in a robust profile of professional development, networking and educational modules that are part of the Office of Student Research summer programs. CATALYST leadership will work with teachers and school administrators to approve CEU credit for participation in these activities.
Program and Research Site:
The UMGCCC is part of the UM Medical Center located on the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) campus. UMB is home to the schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing, Social Work and Law as well as world class research institutes in areas including genomics, human virology and vaccine development. These collective institutions bring together state-of-the-art research and clinical facilities, excellence in education, community service, and outstanding faculty and students. Teachers will have access to this rich array of resources that provide an ideal setting for both teacher research and to inspire CATALYST scholars about cancer-focused biomedical and health science careers.
Duration and Compensation:
Teachers are required to commit to two years in CATALYST with a minimum participation of 3 months/year. Teachers will be compensated $900/week and can gain CEU credits for participation.