# Steer and trees summer research program

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $106,740

## Abstract

We believe that research is a mentoring process, and that to encourage students to pursue
research careers, it is important to give them hands on experience with a research project. We
propose to continue our two highly successful summer research programs at the University of
Pennsylvania, the Teen Research and Education in Environmental Science (TREES) program,
a high school research program and the Short Term Educational Experiences for Research
(STEER) program, an undergraduate research internship program. TREES and STEER are
educational activities of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) through
its COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT CORE (COEC). The programs offer
mentored summer research experiences to high school and college students and are run in
parallel each summer with many integrated activities. In addition, we provide a high-school
teacher training program. The goals of the program are to provide a meaningful summer
experience in environmental health science so as to attract individuals at formative
stages in their career development into STEM careers, particularly environmental
studies. Our programs are the first step of the educational pipeline that we created to train
tomorrow's scientists in the environmental health sciences. Additionally, because graduate
students, many of whom are supported by a T32 training grant in Environmental Toxicology,
teach the TREES students, our summer program provides them with valuable classroom
experience. From 2007 through 2016, 76 high school students participated in the TREES
program, 76 undergraduates participated in the STEER program and four teachers participated
in the teacher program. The programs were funded through R25 ES016146 and renewed as
R25 ES021649. Here we propose to continue our programs under NIEHS PAR-15-184, which is
the currently active NIEHS RFA.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9860923
- **Project number:** 5R25ES021649-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** JEFFREY M FIELD
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $106,740
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-05-15 → 2023-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9860923

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9860923, Steer and trees summer research program (5R25ES021649-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9860923. Licensed CC0.

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