# MARC U-STAR PROGRAM AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

> **NIH NIH T34** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $54,310

## Abstract

Summary of Proposed Supplement: This supplement builds on two major areas of focus of the parent grant –
scientific communication and explicit discussions on the intersection of race and science. Through the creation,
implementation, and evaluation of new, innovative training modules, students will learn how to communicate
complex science concepts clearly to the public by creating science videos, develop a personal narrative that uses
storytelling to address the intersection of race and science in each student's scientific journey, and give back to
the local underserved community via an ongoing collaboration with The Sophia Project, a local girls club for
talented but at-risk St. Louis City middle and high school students. Guided by experts on vaccines, epidemiology,
and storytelling, MARC students will create one ASAP Science video on vaccine development and design or
epidemiology as they relate to SARS-CoV-2, a Tik Tok video on a hands-on science experiment, and a personal
narrative that reflects on their scientific journey and incorporates the impact of race on it. We will share these
videos on The Sophia Project website, our website, and appropriate social media platforms to promote their
broad dissemination, and hopefully as local health officials allow, we will incorporate the videos in our weekly
in-person tutoring and science demo sessions with The Sophia Project. Critically, the proposed curriculum is
adaptable to both remote, in-person, or hybrid learning models and will provide students with a creative,
communal outlet during what is sure to be a challenging year.
The key measurable objectives of the proposed training modules are as follows: 1) to increase students'
knowledge of vaccines and epidemiology; 2) to enhance students' ability and confidence in effective scientific
communication to the public and team-based science; and, 3) to amplify students' voices and sense of belonging
in science through teamwork, storytelling, and outreach. We will conduct pre-/post-test surveys with all students
to track their perspectives via quantitative and qualitative questions on each objective to assess if our training
achieves its goals. As the MARC program director will help oversee all aspects of the creation and implementation
of the learning modules, he will be perfectly positioned to integrate these activities in the MARC seminar in the
future with greatly reduced external support, ensuring sustainability of all proposed activities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10194133
- **Project number:** 3T34GM083914-10S1
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** James Benjamin Skeath
- **Activity code:** T34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $54,310
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2008-06-01 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10194133

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10194133, MARC U-STAR PROGRAM AT WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS (3T34GM083914-10S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10194133. Licensed CC0.

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