Health Professions

Summer Programs:

CTY Summer Programs for grades 7-11; 3 weeks; residental. Epidemiology, History of Disease, Introduction to the Biomedical Sciences, and Medicine East and West. (410)735-6277 cty.jhu.edu/summer

Harvard Secondary School Program (MA) for grades 9-11; 7 weeks. Course offerings have previously included Introduction to Immunology, and Biological Perspectives on HIV and AIDS. (617)495-3195; www.ssp.harvard.edu

Johns Hopkins University Precollege Program (MD) for grades 10-12:1-5 weeks; residental and commuter. Offerings include Medical Sociology & Pandemics, Introduction to Biostatistics, Introduction to Public Health and Biomedical Informatics, and Medical Considerations of Health in the Urban Enivornment. (800) 548-0548; www.jhu.edu/summer/precollege/summer

NIH Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research (multiple sites) Ages 16 & up; 8 weeks; commuter. Internships are available at 22 institutes and centers within the National Institutes of Health, ranging from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Internship lengths and dates vary by center, but all require a minimum commitment of eight weeks. Students receive a stipend and are responsible for their own housing. www.training.nih.gov/student/internship/internship.asp

Northwestern University CTD (IL) for grades 5-11; 3 weeks. Courses include Epidemiology and Immunology, Genetics, Human Biology, Introduction to Biochemistry, and Neuroscience. (847)491-3782; www.ctd.northwestern.edu/summer

Summer Workshop in Computational Science and Bioinformatics (NY) for grades 9-11; 2 weeks; commuter. This intensive program focuses on computational biology and bioinformatics, providing students with experience in computational bioscience on state-of-the-art computing and visualization hardware. (716)645-6500; www.ccr.buffalo.edu/content/education.htm

University of Chicago Summer Research in the Biological Sciences (IL) for grades 10 &11; 4 weeks. Students who have excelled in a high school biology course may apply for this program that covers research in molecular biology, microbiology, and cellular biology. Students design and carry out their own research at the end of the course. (773)702-6033; http://summer.uchicago.edu

University of Connecticut Mentor Connection (CT) for grades 11&12; 3 weeks. Students work closely with university mentors on research projects. 2008 offerings included Nanobiotechnology: The Future of Detection and Treatment of Disease, Research in Nutritional Science, Pharmaceutical Science, and Early Detection of Autism Spectrum Disorders (860)486-0283; www.gifted.uconn.edu/mentor

University of Iowa Secondary Student Training Program (IA) for grades10 & 11; 6 weeks. Under the guidance of a faculty mentor, students spend approximately 40 hours per week conductiong research in a discipline of interest. Research topics include environmental engineering, hydro science, computer science, speech pathology, dentistry, internal medicine, and many more. (800) 553-4692 x53876; http://continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/SSTP

University of Miami Summer Scholars Program (FL) for grades 10 & 11; 3 weeks. Students specialize in one of five areas: infectious disease, neuroscience, nursing, oncology, or sports medicine. The program features lectures, labs, and field trips to hospitals. Students must have completed high school biology and one other high school lab science course to be eligible. (800) 788-3986; www.miami.edu/summerscholar

Water Purification Systems Technology Camp (IL) for grades 10 & 11; 1 week. Students are immersed in the engineering, science, and technology of water purification, studying river systems to nanotechnology. Activities include field testing, projects, and a week-long Water Works competition. (217) 333-2633; www.watercampws.uiuc.edu

Leadership Programs in Medicine & Healthcare:

Congressional Student Leadership Conference: Medicine & Healthcare for grades 9-12; 10 days. Activities include medical simulations, leadership development workshops, meet-the-expert discussions, medical schools, global health issues, and more (866)394-5323; www.leadamerica.org/conferences/csls/medicine.asp

National Youth Leadership Forum for grades 10-12; 10 days. In the Forum on Medicine, students attend lectures on topics ranging from global epidemics to career options, hear firsthand from doctors and medical students, and consider a specific issue in public health, including a public awareness plan. (703)584-9240; www.nylf.org/med

Summer @ Brown-Leadership and Global Health (RI) for grades 9-12; 2 weeks. Through discussions, lectures, films, and experiential role plays, students learn to apply leadership skills relevant to AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis; maternal and child health, nutrition and food security; natural and man-made disaster emergency relief situations; vaccine and drug development and distribution; and nonprofit and international aid organizations. (410)863-7900; www.brown.edu/scs/precollege/leadership

Academic Competitions:

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Two individuals and one team from each of 500 Intel ISEF-Affiliated Science Fairs advance to the International ISEF. These high school students compete for scholarships in 17 categories. The top three winners at theinternational competition each receive a $50,000 schloraship. First-through fourth-place entries in each category are awarded $3,000, $1,500, $1,000 and $500, respectively. Multiple special awards are also presented. (202)785-2255; www.societyforscience.org/isef

Intel Science Talent Search High school seniors submit a written description of their independent research and a 12-page entry form. From the 300 semifinalists, 40 finalists are selected to travel to Washington, DC, for final judging. Ten finalists receive one of the following four-year scholarships: one $100,000, one $75,000, one $50,000, three $25,000 or four $20,000. The remaining 30 finalists each receive a $5,000 scholarship. (202)785-2255; www.societyforscience.org/sts

Junior Science and Humanities Symposia Students in grades 9-12 who have completed original research in science, engineering, or mathematics may apply to attend JSHS regional symposia. Three winners from each regional event win scholarships of $2,000, $1,500, or $1,000 and are invited to attend the National Symposium, where six first-place, six second-place, and six third-place winners receive scholarships of $16,000, $6,000, and $2,000, respectively. Each first-place finalist also receives an expensepaid trip to London International Youth Science Forum, an exchange program bringing together over 400 participants from 60 nations. (603)228-4520; www.jshs.org

Siemens Westinghouse Competition As individuals or as members of two- or three-person teams, high school students submit research projects in one of 14 categories. Up to 300 projects are selected as semifinalists; from that group, up to 30 individuals and 30 teams become regional finalists. Individual winners of regional competitions receive $3,000 scholarships; winning teams receive $6,000 in scholarships to divide among the team members. Team and individual winners go to New York for the national finals, where they compete for scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. (877)822-5233; www.siemensfoundation.org/competition

U.S. Biology Olympiad High school biology students who are nominated by their school take a national exam; the top 500 scorers then take the USABO semifinal exam. Twenty semifinalists will be invited to attend the two-week USABO Summer Program in June, where four students will be selected to attend the International Biology Olympiad. The 2009 IBO will be held in Tsukuba, Japan. (703)448-9062; www.cee.org/usabo

Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition High school juniors and seniors submit reports of research projects they have conducted that apply epidemiological methods of analysis to a health-related issue. After three levels of competition (with prizes for up to 120 semifinalists), 12 national finalists will be selected and will receive one of the following scholarship awards: two $50,000, two $35,000, two $20,000, or six $15,000. (800)626-9795 x5932; www.collegeboard.com/yes

Books:

Appointments at the Ends of the World: Memoirs of a Wildlife Veterinarian by William B. Karesh (Warner Books, 2000).

A Brief History of Disease, Science, and Medicine by Michael Kennedy (Asklepiad Press, 2004).

The Demon in the Freezer: A True Story by Richard Preston (Random House, 2002).

Dinner at the New Gene Cafe: How Genetic Engineering Is Changing What We Eat, How We Live, and the Global Politics of Food by Bill Lambrecht (St. Martin Press, 2001).

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser (Perennial 2002).

The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic-and How it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson (Penguin, 2006).

Hope in Hell: Inside the World of Doctors Without Borders by Don Bartolotti (Firefly Books, 2004).

A Life in Medicine: A Literary Anthology edited by Randy Coles and Randy Testa (New Press, 2003).

Mountains Beyond Mountains:The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2004).

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penquin, 2006).

WEB Sites:

BioInteractive This site of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute features a virtual museum, animations, an Ask a Scientist page, virtual labs, and interactive tutorials on infectious diseases, obesity, cancer, and more. www.hhmi.org/biointeractive

National Library of Medicine The world's largest medical library, the NLM contains extensive resources for the general public, students and educators, and professional researchers and doctors. Be sure to check out the online exhibitions, digital projects, and public health portal. www.nlm.nih.gov

Pathways to Public Health Citing an ever-increasing need for public health workers, this site provides links to job descriptions, salary information, and career resources. High school students can investigate careers in public health based on their individual interests. http://pathwaystopublichealth.org/High-School-Students/26/