# Education and Enrichment Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $101,298

## Abstract

A key aspect of the Northwestern University CounterAct Center of EXcellence (NUCCX) is to create a
collaborative countermeasure research community. The overall goal of this core is to centralize and coordinate
all of the intellectual activities of the NUCCX with an emphasis on attracting new investigators into the field of
mustard injury. One of the ways that this goal can best be accomplished is through a comprehensive education
and training program emphasizing personal and professional development, coupled with a vigorous community
outreach effort and an unwavering commitment to recruiting women and URMs into the NUCCX community.
One of the strengths of the NUCCX is its diversified group of scientists from the departments of chemistry,
dermatology, immunology, medicine, ophthalmology, physics and astronomy, and urology. These scientists are
located within Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.
In addition to the faculty, there will be undergraduate, graduate, medical students, residents and postdoctoral
fellows. However, such diversity also brings with it the challenge of cohesivity, which will be another mission of
this core. Through engagement with outreach initiatives, the Education and Enrichment program will also
encompass Science in Society (SIS) and community partners including Chicago Public School partners and
Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago. Specifically, this core will: (i)l foster education and training with multidisciplinary
seminars, workshops, and networking opportunities; (ii) advance personal and professional development of
NUCCX trainees and investigators[ (iii) engage community partners through Northwestern University’s Science
in Society (SiS); (iv) promote inclusivity and diversity within the mustard injury field; and (v) conduct evaluations
of the overall program and of key aspects of the education and enrichment program, including trainee
professional development. A major initiative will be the fostering of sex and minority representation in the field of
mustard injury. An innovative aspect of the seminar series is that seminars will be recorded, and with the slides,
curated to create continuous learning as new researchers enter into the NUCCX and the field. We envision that
after a few years, an online blended course will be developed. The core will disseminate material related to the
above program on the NUCCX website and through electronic communication to the local research community.
With respect to sex and underrepresented minorities (URM), in coordination with the Skin Biology & Diseases
Resource-Based Center (SBDRC) and T-32 Training Grant program within the Department of Dermatology, the
NUCCX will align with their endeavors to attract and recruit URM and women into countermeasures research.
The NUCCX training and education program will highlight research within these communities and provide
networking opportunities for trainees. The Education and Enrichment C...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10907610
- **Project number:** 5U54AR079795-04
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Stephanie M Rangel
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $101,298
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-17 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10907610

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10907610, Education and Enrichment Core (5U54AR079795-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10907610. Licensed CC0.

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