Thanks to a grant by the World Education Center, Inc., of Provo, Utah, support from the Opus Network of Las Vegas, Nevada, and the initial/continued support of other foundations, groups, and individuals that are being contacted currently, the IIHW and Rio Verde University-UT research laboratories hope to implement a student-research support project next year
 

The Partners Feeding the World© program, established in 1998 in Juarez, MEX, will begin in Utah in the fall of 2006. It will bring Wasatch front high school students into the IIHW/RVU laboratories and give them a taste of the real world of plant/food nutrition research. The program is open to all Utah and Salt Lake County high school students entering their senior year; each high school science chairperson may nominate one student from his or her school during their junior year. Twelve student semi-finalists will be interviewed by IIHW/RVU Laboratory scientists and the two or more winners will go on to spend a minimum of ten hours per month (primarily Saturday’s), September through March of their senior year, doing original research under the watchful eye of a scientist mentor. At the conclusion, the winning students will give oral presentations of their research projects to an enthusiastic audience of the students' scientific mentors, Lab administrators, parents and teachers.

Please note: Nomination forms are sent in early February to all high school science chairpersons only. There is no application form and no preliminary information that is sent directly to students or parents. All nominations are due by late March (exact date is noted on forms).

While the students learn a great deal about plant nutrition and biology and state-of-the-art research techniques, the main advantage of the program is in exposing the students to day-to-day life in a working lab. Debunking the mythical scientist-in-a-lab-coat image, the students are introduced to a world of relatively young scientists, senior adult mentors and their interactive support staff in a relaxed, problem-solving atmosphere.

IIHW/RVU is excited about this project for the Utah Valley area, and is looking forward to furthering its’ indepth knowledge of trace mineral bio-incorporation, and continuing the legacy of Hippocrates who proclaimed, “your food is your medicine”!