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College of Public Health

Health Sciences Faculty Receives Grant to Expand Foundations Course
Dr. Sean Fox in the Department of Health Sciences, has received an Instructional Development Grant to expand the Department's Foundations in Health Science course. The grant, titled "Bringing novel molecular biological concepts to undergraduate classrooms" will permit the course faculty to purchase a range of instruments for the course which will better assist students in developing crucial hands-on lab-based experience.

The Foundations in Health Sciences was developed by Dr. Chris Pritchett and Dr. Laraine Powers, in the Department of Health Sciences, to assure that students are best prepared to meet the needs of the workforce and to succeed in graduate school. The course is focused on teaching students a set of related skills (specifically, amplifying, cloning and purifying Taq polymerase) that have broader applicability in a variety of laboratory and professional settings.  The course is consistent with a growing emphasis in the College of Public Health to assure that students not only have the classroom learning that they need for success, but have the ability to apply that learning in a practical, hands-on setting.

Randy Wykoff, Dean of the College of Public Health, said "The Department of Health Sciences has a long-history of applying innovative teaching methods and assuring that their graduates have both the knowledge and skills necessary for success. This course is another important step forward in this regard."

A student who has participated in the course described it as "an awesome experience" while another student said "What I liked the most was the useful knowledge gained, the instructors and the small, interactive class. . ."

Dr. Fox, who wrote the IDC grant, stated "We are hoping this will give a competitive edge to our students after they graduate from our program, as well as, skills that will help them in classes we already offer."

Instructional Development Grants are competitively awarded, and provide up to $5,000 for special projects in which faculty implement and assess innovative methods to enhance student learning at ETSU.

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