The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has awarded Pitt a $2.1 million, four-year grant to strengthen the University’s undergraduate research and outreach program in biological sciences.

Pitt’s 2006 HHMI Undergraduate Science Education Program Grant was one of only three awarded to Pennsylvania universities (the others went to Carnegie Mellon University and Lehigh University) and 50 nationwide.

The Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 report by the National Science Board, part of the National Science Foundation, found that the share of science and engineering degrees in the United States is low relative to other countries. As the globalization of science and engineering research in labor markets continues, the competitiveness of U.S. graduates will be increased by participating in research at the undergraduate level.

Pitt’s grant will fund programs in the Department of Biological Sciences in the School of Arts and Sciences that encourage lengthy, meaningful research experiences for undergraduates. Students will be able to begin research as early as the summer before their freshman year through a program called FastStart, and the programs aim to keep them conducting research through graduation.

Along the way, Pitt students will participate in project-based freshman biology labs and BioResearch101, a research introduction workshop for rising sophomores. During the summer after their junior year, experienced student researchers will receive training in how to mentor students new to the program. With this grant, Pitt aims to create a thriving undergraduate research community that will add value to the research experiences of both students and faculty.

Pitt’s current biology outreach programs will also receive support from the grant. These initiatives include summer workshops for Pittsburgh high school science teachers in which they develop inquiry-based modules to teach their students throughout the year; “Pitt Kits” that contain supplies for teachers to implement those modules; and summer science camps for local middle and high school students. In addition, the workshops will be expanded to Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., only 15 miles from Pitt’s Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology.

The Pitt programs will be administered by Graham Hatfull, the Eberly Family Professor of Biotechnology and chair of Pitt’s biological sciences department. Hatfull is also codirector of the Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute and a “million-dollar” HHMI professor who recently received a $500,000 renewal grant to continue his research and education activities.