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ORMH Hosts Visits by More Than 200 Members of National Youth Groups

More than 200 young people from all over the country visited NIH's campus this summer under the auspices of the National African American Youth Initiative, the National Hispanic Youth Initiative and the National Native American Youth Initiative. The visits — which included guided lab tours, lunch and an address by an NIH researcher, administrator or science policy official — were organized by Dr. Lorrita Watson of NIH's Office of Research on Minority Health and Levon Parker of NINDS's Summer Program in the Neurosciences, and Barbara James and Janita Coen, both of NHLBI. One of the initiatives' main goals is to enhance minority youth awareness of national health and scientific research, public policy, and the role and impact of the federal government in health policy development. Nearly all NIH institutes and centers contribute funds to make these programs possible. ORMH is the primary host while the students are on campus.

Young scholars from the National Native American Youth Initiative (NNAYI) gather for a photo at NIH.

NAAYI members visited NIH on June 26. Paul Rochon (c) of the NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program met with the students during lunch; Dr. Robert S. Balaban, NHLBI scientific director for laboratory research, gave a brief talk during the visit.

NNAYI scholars visited an NIH lab on June 19; while on campus, they and their mentors participated in a panel discussion about the numerous career opportunities at NIH and in medical research in general.

Mae Walton (r), program director of the National African American Youth Initiative (NAAYI), joins several students for lunch in the Visitor Information Center.

Dora Castaneda (r) of the NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program showed National Hispanic Youth Initiative (NHYI) scholars around an NIH lab and introduced them to several research tools.

The NHYI brought two groups of approximately 50 each to visit on July 24 and Aug. 7; they were sponsored by the Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons. Castaneda (third from r) gave a lab tour; Dr. Arlyn Garcia-Perez, assistant director of NIH's Office of Intramural Research, and Dr. Juan Rivera, NIAMS senior investigator, briefed the youngsters about NIH.