Hackathons — events wherein programmers come together for days at a time to solve a problem — are a staple in the technology community. Durham, N.C.-based Duke Health is using a similar model to get high school students excited about the medical field.
HackBio was created by Jason Somarelli, PhD, assistant professor in medicine and associate member of the Duke Cancer Institute, and his wife, Meagan Dunphy-Daly, PhD, assistant professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. The program takes place at Duke, with high school students from Durham Public Schools and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. Teams of students collaborate to tackle issues related to the theme of cancer and the environment. Students receive mentorship from undergraduate students at Duke and have four days to complete their solution before presenting it to a panel of judges.
The summer program has been running for six years and has improved students' understanding of college applications, scientific research and problem solving, Dr. Somarelli told Becker's.
"Through this experience, we realized that what was missing was continuity," he said. "We didn't want to provide content that was a one-time thing, like visiting a museum or zoo. We wanted to focus on the nitty-gritty of scientific discovery."
To address the gap, they created a program that runs concurrently with the school year. Students at Durham Public Schools can apply for the program, which accepts 20 to 30 students each year. The program includes professional development sessions, experimental education, mentorship from undergraduate students, field trips to relevant sites in the local community, and a hackathon.
"We hope our programs will ultimately help mitigate healthcare disparities by providing opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to become physicians or researchers," Dr. Somarelli said. "Diverse teams perform better, and we believe that training individuals from various backgrounds will improve the healthcare system. We also hope to create a more educated and respectful community that values scientific discovery and its impact on the world."