UW Pharmacology is committed to making science accessible to everyone. We aim to inspire curiosity, promote diversity, and foster meaningful engagement between our department and the community. Join us in making a positive impact through science outreach!
Below are several initiatives that have ongoing participation from Pharmacology. Many are actively recruiting volunteers, so please get in touch with the contact person(s) if you’d like to join the effort or get more information about the program.
K-12 Outreach Programs
HuSCI Outreach Events
Currently partnered with Denny International Middle School in West Seattle, volunteers can participate in hands-on in person science activities with 7th and 8th graders as well as a “Meet a Scientist” day (currently held over Zoom).
Contact person(s): HuSCIorg@gmail.com
Actively recruiting volunteers: Yes!
Particularly seeking: Everyone!
Timing: In-person events happen approximately once per quarter, volunteers can attend as many events as they want.
Time commitment: Varies on event
Fostering Educational Excitement Designed for Bold and Academically Curious Kids (FEEDBACK)
This student-driven initiative strives to promote academic success among young students from underrepresented communities. At present, they organize science-based activities for high school students at a local school in Eastern Washington. Their goal is to broaden their outreach by incorporating science fairs and educational tours of the University of Washington laboratories into their volunteering efforts.
Contact person(s): Mickey Ruiz (Program co-founder) mvr25@uw.edu
Actively recruiting volunteers: Yes!
Particularly seeking: Everyone!
Timing: Events take place throughout the academic year.
Time commitment: Varies
STEM Pals
STEM Pals arranges and conducts a diverse range of events, which may include, but are not limited to: (1) STEM exhibitions, challenges, competitions, and guided tours of laboratories accompanied by discussions on pertinent ideas and small group projects. (2) Talks on social aspects of STEM, such as personal experiences, diversity, professions, internships, research, college admissions, life, and other essential subjects, followed by informal group discussions. (3) Collaboration between college-going STEM mentors and small groups of STEM students (STEMentees) as part of the mentoring program.
Contact person(s): Please reach out on their contact page https://stempals.wordpress.com/contact-2/
Actively recruiting volunteers: Yes!
Particularly seeking: Everyone!
Timing: Varies
AVELA
AVELA’s mission is to “provide outreach to elementary, middle and high school students from predominantly underrepresented backgrounds (Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander) by representing these populations as we expose them to the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with the goal of sparking their interest in STEM careers and/or higher education.”
Contact person(s): avelauw@uw.edu website – http://students.washington.edu/avelauw/index.html
Actively recruiting volunteers: Yes!
Particularly seeking: Graduate Students!
Timing: Academic school year. AVELA hosts weekly meetings on Fridays from 4-5 pm during which they discuss current and upcoming projects.
Time commitment: Varies
Mentorship Programs
BioSTEP Scholars
This program focuses on engaging undergraduate students from Pacific Northwest Tribal Nations and other systemically marginalized communities in biomedical research at the UW. BioSTEP scholars spend 10 weeks in a laboratory setting working on important biomedical questions and will present their research at the end of the summer program at the UW Research Symposium!
Contact person(s): Dr. Smita Yadav – smitay@uw.edu
Particularly seeking: Labs who are interested in mentoring a student through this program
Timing: 10-weeks in the summer
Time commitment: A few hours per week for the 10-week duration
Endure
The goal of this program is to prepare students from diverse backgrounds for future neuroscience careers. This program includes both summer and year-round research opportunities at UW.
Contact person(s): horaciod@uw.edu – Current program coordinator
Particularly seeking: Neuroscience labs who are interested in mentoring a student through this program
Timing: 10-weeks+ in the summer or academic year
Time commitment: 10-12 hours per week for the duration of the program
Rainier Scholars
The departments of PBIO, Biological Structure, and Pharmacology partner with Rainier Scholars to provide opportunities for these students to receive hands-on experience in biomedical research.
Contact person(s): morenocm@uw.edu, rieke@uw.edu – Current program coordinators
Particularly seeking: Labs who are interested in mentoring a student through this program
Timing: 10-weeks+ in the summer
Time commitment: 10-12 hours per week for the duration of the program
Neuroscience Undergraduate Reading Program (NURP)
Mentorship program where undergraduate students are paired with a graduate student mentor to improve their science literacy and presentation skills.
Contact person(s): nurp@uw.edu
Particularly seeking: Graduate students
Timing: Held once a quarter, can volunteer for as many quarters as you’d like!
Time commitment: Attend weekly meetings to discuss scientific papers assigned by the graduate student and work on a scientific presentation that will be presented by the undergraduate at an end-of-quarter symposium
Currently, we are focused on boosting our department’s engagement in the existing outreach programs at UW. However, our ultimate goal is to establish our own internal outreach events. We hope to create a sustainable and impactful outreach program that will inspire and educate the community about the wonders of Pharmacology!