Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition

January 6, 2003, NEW YORK, NY — The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the College Board announced today the names of eight high school teachers whose model curricula were selected as winners in the 2002 Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Teacher Competition. The eight teachers, who submitted six different models for innovative high school epidemiology curricula, were honored with national and regional awards totaling $75,000. They will be recognized at the College Board's Regional Meetings in February.

Sponsored by RWJF and administered by the College Board, the YES Teacher Competition invites high school teachers from a variety of disciplines to submit models for classroom curricula that incorporate epidemiological methods. Each individual or team selected as a regional winner received a $5,000 prize, and national winners received an additional $15,000.

The YES Student Competition will kick off in the spring. The competition is open to high school juniors who submit original research projects. Scholarships totaling up to $456,000 will be awarded each year, including $50,000 for each of two national winners.

"The YES Program provides the next generation with the kind of critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will benefit students throughout the course of their lives in whatever field they choose to pursue," said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board. "The College Board is honored to help provide this kind of opportunity to our nation's teachers and young people."

Hailing from California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Ohio, Maryland, and Washington, the winning teachers reveal the many ways in which the tools of epidemiology can be applied in the high school classroom. In the process, students gain important lifelong skills.

"These innovative teachers bring a passion for scientific inquiry to the classroom," said J. Michael McGinnis, M.D., RWJF senior vice president. "They have found practical ways to introduce the basic skills of epidemiology and the critical reasoning it requires to high school curricula. These skills will be valuable not only to future epidemiologists, but to students who pursue any discipline and career."

The winning teachers' projects address a variety of important public health issues, including the transmission of HIV and the probability of the occurrence of diabetes in certain populations. They also tackle common social epidemics, such as poverty, drug abuse and illiteracy.

"These winning projects demonstrate both clarity and depth of epidemiological content and practical application in the real world," said University of Pennsylvania Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Pharmacology Sean Hennessy, Pharm.D., Ph.D., who served as a competition judge. "The eight teachers being honored display a clear commitment to epidemiological approaches at the high school level." A list of this year's winners is attached.

Epidemiology studies the patterns of occurrence of disease and other phenomena in human populations to determine causes and find solutions for prevention and control. Early epidemiological studies focused on mortality, particularly from epidemics of infectious diseases, hence the name. The field now encompasses a much broader set of issues, including chronic diseases like asthma and cancer; accident and injury prevention; environmental problems, such as lead poisoning; risk assessment; and social determinants of health.

The 2001 anthrax attacks, the question of connections between cellular phones and brain cancer, and even the predictive value of screening and profiling possible terrorists, are all examples of issues that require epidemiological methods of investigation.

"Our nation needs students who can think critically about the world around them," said McGinnis. "Through the YES Competition, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the College Board are seeking to kindle curiosity and analytical investigation of important health-related issues that will benefit students and their communities for generations to come."

National Winners

Kim S. Ables, teacher of Biology I, AP Biology, and Human Anatomy and Physiology
John Mahoney, teacher of AP Statistics, Pre-Calculus, and IB Higher-Level Mathematics
Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, Washington, DC
This team created an interdisciplinary curriculum that uses epidemiology to link statistics and biology. Students act as epidemiologists to assess the occurrence of disease and other public health issues, and then apply basic principles of statistics to synthesize, analyze, and report their findings.

Robert Seiple, teacher of Environmental Systems and AP Environmental Science
Sycamore High School, Montgomery, OH
Mr. Seiple's unit, "A Ticking Time Bomb: The Emyl, Connecticut Story," is an inquiry-based simulation of the detection and eventual discovery of a mysterious, but real, disease. The unit is designed to help students learn the vital role that medical epidemiologists, pathologists, public health workers, and field biologists perform in society.

Jason Rosé teacher of AP Chemistry and Pestilence and Civilization
The King's Academy, Sunnyvale, CA
Dr. Rosé 11-unit program, "Pestilence and Civilization," is part of a yearlong interdisciplinary course on the history of infectious disease. The course examines eight major infectious diseases of the human population with an emphasis on how epidemiology can help make sense of the impact of disease on society.

Regional Winners

Southern Region

Mark Gottfried, teacher of Honors Biology and AP Biology
Barbara Rothstein, teacher of Research
North Miami Beach Senior High School, North Miami Beach, FL
Gottfried's and Rothstein's module, "Contagion: The Spread of Disease," explores epidemiological research by tracking the course of HIV transmission, following the spread of flu among friends, or by placing students in the midst of a cholera epidemic.

Western Region

Annette S. Holmstrom, teacher of Introductory and Advanced Psychology
Curtis High School, University Place, WA
Ms. Holmstrom created a four-unit curriculum titled "Epidemiology in Action," which outlines classroom activities that will provide students an opportunity to explain, interpret, and apply new knowledge and skills. Using Web-based research, students solve a plague puzzle, design a disease museum, and develop and present a public information campaign.

Middle States Region

Stephanie Thompson, teacher of AP Biology, General Biology, and Anatomy and Physiology
Institute of Notre Dame High School, Baltimore, MD
Ms. Thompson's "Introduction to Epidemiology" is a 12-week course designed to introduce students to the process of scientific inquiry. Using visuals and hands-on activities, students participate in a public health scavenger hunt and design a school population skin cancer study.

For more information, contact Jennifer Topiel at 212-713-8052.