# BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING SUPERHEROES: Health Science, Engineering, and Data Science Elementary Curriculum Development & Outreach Program

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO · 2024 · $267,759

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
In this project, we leverage the motivating theme of “Superheroes” to highlight the work of
biomedical engineers, biotechnologists, and other medical technologists, whose work in
engineering design and problem-solving using scientific data and readings is exciting and
important. The overarching goal of the Biomedical Engineering Superheroes is to develop
curricular resources and outreach activities to support educational activities that encourage
students from diverse backgrounds to consider pursuing further studies or careers in engineering
and scientific research. This Curriculum Development and Outreach project will also integrate
health science content, engineering design skills, data science, and reading. The Biomedical
Engineering Superheroes program will include curricular units that demonstrate how we can fight
against four common conditions or diseases. The curricular units will focus on four of the mission
areas (the fantastic four) of the NIH Institutes and Centers- obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and
kidney disease based on data that demonstrated how prevalent and thus culturally relevant these
public health issues are to families. The Biomedical Engineering Superheroes curricular program
will be designed to include 18 hours of academic content over five Saturdays (not including a 3-
hour, community-public health fair).
The following three major aims will guide this project for the next five years: (1) to develop
community co-constructed, culturally-responsive, curricular activities with biomedical and data
science experts and teachers addressing fifth-grade students’ science learning and language and
identity development needs. (2) to provide a health science STEM education professional
development model that includes experiences for elementary school teachers that focus on
increasing their knowledge of science and engineering concepts related to health science,
biomedical engineering, and linguistic-culturally responsive pedagogical approaches for teaching
STEM and 3) to deliver a STEM outreach program to elementary-aged students comprised of 4
units that focus on obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease. Outputs: Over the five-
year funding period, 48 teachers will participate in training & lead the Biomedical Engineering
Superheroes sessions; 48 college students will participate as Peer Mentors; More than 500
Elementary students from eight low-income school districts will participate in weekend academic
programming and more than 400 family members participate in the family public health community
fairs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10888842
- **Project number:** 1R25EB036584-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO
- **Principal Investigator:** Araceli Martinez Ortiz
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $267,759
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10888842

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10888842, BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING SUPERHEROES: Health Science, Engineering, and Data Science Elementary Curriculum Development & Outreach Program (1R25EB036584-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10888842. Licensed CC0.

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