# Genes, the Environment, and Me: Health and STEM Network (GEMNET)

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $233,844

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Through Genes, the Environment, and Me: Health and STEM Network (GEMNet), we will develop a model for
teaching about type 2 diabetes (t2d) and engaging students in biomedical careers using a cross-disciplinary
approach with high school biology, health, and Family and Consumer Science (FACS) teachers. Diabetes is a
complex condition that unites science and health concepts, and links these concepts to broader social issues,
i.e., environmental influences, health care, scientific research, personal choice, access to resources, diet and
exercise, social justice, and public policy. The nature of this complex topic lends itself to multi-disciplinary
instruction in which students can benefit from exposure to different aspects of t2d in different high school
contexts.
This project builds on our successful SEPA-funded project, Genes, the Environment, and Me (GEM). Through
GEM, we have developed a strong community of high school science and health teachers primarily in the
Yakima Valley, a rural agricultural region in central Washington. Schools in this region serve highly diverse
students with high percentages of Hispanic and Native American students, many of whom are from high
poverty families with limited English proficiency and low educational attainment levels. These are also
populations that experience disproportionately high rates of t2d, which makes this a timely and important topic
to integrate into high school curricula.
We will build upon our established community of high school teachers in science and health in central
Washington and expand our network and curriculum to other communities and disciplines, including teachers
in the Seattle School District. GEMNet will produce standards-based curriculum to teach about t2d and related
health issues for inclusion in introductory and advanced high school biology, health, and FACS courses.
Project components will include: 1) developing and piloting new t2d lessons specific to the different high school
courses; 2) providing discipline-specific teacher professional development; 3) evaluating student outcomes
following one or more exposures to the curriculum in different classes; and 4) disseminating instructional
materials and strategies within our primary teaching community and to other regions of the state and nation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9994988
- **Project number:** 5R25GM129219-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Joan C Griswold
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $233,844
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-04 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9994988

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9994988, Genes, the Environment, and Me: Health and STEM Network (GEMNET) (5R25GM129219-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9994988. Licensed CC0.

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