# Health Quest: Engaging Adolescents in Health Careers with Technology-Rich Personalized Learning

> **NIH NIH R25** · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · 2021 · $110,634

## Abstract

Administrative Supplement - Project Summary / Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has produced a dramatic nationwide shift in K-12 education. In
response to the pandemic, it has become clear that students need to develop a deeper
understanding of public health and pandemics. The Health Quest team has made a significant
pivot in the project to lay the groundwork for producing a COVID-19 version of CRYSTAL ISLAND
with the goal of teaching middle grade students about the importance of science and public health.
Leveraging game-based learning technologies, the Health Quest project focuses on developing
and disseminating technology-rich resources to broaden the interests of adolescents in
biomedical, behavioral and clinical research careers. Health Quest features a Career Adventure
Game, a Student Discovery Center, and a Teacher Resources Center for teaching middle school
students about health science careers. This proposed Administrative Supplement will enhance
the parent SEPA grant by building out a COVID-19 version of Crystal Island that students and
teachers can use to learn about public health and the role of science in addressing outbreaks. It
has three aims:
1. Refine CRYSTAL ISLAND’s core game mechanics and create new content to support the COVID-
 19 version of CRYSTAL ISLAND.
2. Modify CRYSTAL ISLAND’s software architecture to support a scalable “publicly available”
 implementation of CRYSTAL ISLAND: COVID-19 so that students, teachers, and parents can
 easily connect with Health Quest’s virtual resources.
3. Create additional Teacher Portal resources to support remote implementations of Health Quest
 and CRYSTAL ISLAND: COVID-19 for middle school teachers and parents.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10430592
- **Project number:** 3R25GM129215-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH
- **Principal Investigator:** James Curtis Lester
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $110,634
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10430592

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10430592, Health Quest: Engaging Adolescents in Health Careers with Technology-Rich Personalized Learning (3R25GM129215-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10430592. Licensed CC0.

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