BOYLE HEIGHTS : Science Program at Bravo Gets Funding

A grant will enable USC School of Medicine to expand its partnership with Bravo Medical Magnet High School with more support for its annual science fair, additional classes and summer training.

USC was among 42 biomedical research institutions nationwide that were awarded a total of$10.3 million from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to improve science education at primary and secondary grade levels. The five-year grant amounts to $200,000 for USC and Bravo.

It will help the high school expand its science fair, in which students plan, prepare and exhibit experiments using the resources of USC’s faculty and equipment. Some students go on to compete in county and state science fairs, Bravo Principal Rosa Maria Hernandez said.

The grant will also help the school continue its summer training for students, who receive a stipend for their lab work. The stipend acts as an incentive for students to attend the six-week program.

“This is one of the most successful and most popular programs,” Hernandez said. “They come back ready for the biomedical research class.”

Teacher training will also increase in the clinical and medical research fields, she said.

The 1,600-student high school will also add tissue culture procedures to its biomedical research courses and expand the hospital occupations and ophthalmic technician courses.

The grant will also support the continuing publication of Metamorphosis, a student-written newsletter focusing on research and science club activities. The newsletter will be circulated to other high schools to foster interest in biomedical issues and research.

Bravo was designed so that its teachers and students work with USC faculty in biomedical research in diabetes, cancer, AIDS education and research, cardiovascular disease and substance abuse. It is one of two medical and health professions magnet high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.