*This program is currently discontinued in New York*
Become a mentor who launches a thousand science careers and creates equity in the scientific community. Learn new skills, develop your professional network, and gain hands-on experience from scientists with years of experience at BioBus, an internationally recognized leader in creating equity in science.
What is BioBus? BioBus helps minority, female, and low-income K-12 and college students in New York City discover, explore, and pursue science. We envision a world where all people have the opportunity to reach their full scientific potential. Since 2008, 300,000 students at more than 800 schools have discovered the thrill of scientific discovery, with many embarking on a path of scientific exploration and sustained pursuit. Join our vibrant community of scientists by applying for this fellowship. You will become a cornerstone of aspiring young scientists’ professional networks.
Are you a graduate student or post doc with a flexible schedule during the day or after-hours?
By becoming a trained Community Scientist Fellow, your love for science will inspire and guide students along the path to higher education.
Do you work in industry? Do you have volunteer days during the week or can you volunteer on weekends?
As a trained Community Scientist Fellow, you will inspire students to stick with science and achieve your company’s DEI goals.
What is this Fellowship?
In BioBus’s Community Scientist Fellowship Program, you will join a community that is changing the face of science. You will learn to help as few as five or as many as five thousand young scientist pursue a science career. With training and feedback from seasoned BioBus scientists and students from public schools in Harlem, the Lower East Side, and across New York City, you will measurably improve your science communication and mentorship powers. Combining theory with the hard work needed to create equity in science careers, fellows complete 62 hours of training during this one year program. However, the fellowship is designed to accommodate your demanding research schedule. Academic and industry scientists will connect throughout the program, strengthening professional networks. In addition to connecting to like-minded professional scientists, you will broaden your network to include young scientists with great potential but few science opportunities. Read on for more details.
Classroom-based training
Every Fellow will participate in an initial series of three half-day trainings (12 hours total).
Topics include:
- Science education literature review, understanding barriers to equity in science
- Understanding and exploring BioBus’s inquiry-based, lab-centric theory of change and program logic for introductory, in-depth, and career programs
- Overview and practice with various BioBus platforms, including mobile labs, community labs, and online
- Learn how to monitor program and student success by entering and reporting data with BioBus’s Salesforce-based CRM
- Developing your personalized goal for your fellowship. Prepare to track progress towards those goals via observations and self-observations using Harvard PEAR’s Dimensions of Success rubric
- Cultural competency training to match your approach to the unique needs of Black and Latinx young scientists
Practical Training
Every Fellow will log 50 hours in one or more of the following activities:
- Produce or appear in Student Science Town Hall live public events
- Teach live introductory Discover at Home classes – one hour online lab programs
- Produce, appear in, and teach Explore synchronous and asynchronous in-depth science programs
- Mentor high school and college BioBus Junior Scientists, including helping interns perform their own research projects
- Take part in ongoing, customized professional development, guided by your goals and self and external observations
- Use data to measure impact of programs on students
- Match young BioBus scientists to your lab or company’s internship or entry-level job program
Programs are expected to be online through June 2021 and then shift to their in-person equivalent.
You will explore these topics with various members of BioBus’s twenty full-time staff, including:
Lead Community Scientist Robert Frawley, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer Latasha Wright, Ph.D.
Community Scientist Sedef Tinaztepe, Ph.D.
Lead Community Scientist Devon Collins, Ph.D.
Director of Evaluation Roya Heydari, Ph.D.
Executive Director Ben Dubin-Thaler, Ph.D.
Program Cost: $3,820 plus a $1,180 materials fee
Wondering how you can pay for the program? Academics, consider asking your PI if there is supplemental or broader impact money in your grants. Industry scientists, many companies offer money for continuing education and professional development, or will donate to a non-profit for days you volunteer.
Still have questions?
BioBus’s mission is to build inclusive and accessible scientific communities where every New York City student can fulfill their academic, financial, and personal potential in science. Founded in 2008, we create pathways for minority, female, and low-income students to discover, explore, and pursue science. Our two research-grade mobile laboratories, brick-and-mortar BioBase Harlem @ Columbia University, field sites, and virtual labs bring excitement, expertise, and state-of-the-art microscopes directly to underserved students. BioBus Community Scientists lead the hands-on research projects that transform students into scientists, and prepare low-income New Yorkers for a life in science. Join us by becoming a BioBus Community Science Fellow.
As a volunteer, I help students explore marine biology with microscopes on the bus. I also bring mutant nematode worms, the same organism I study for my PhD research, to the BioBase to show students the fundamentals of genetics. I value my experience as a volunteer because it allows me to take the subject I love and share it hands on with the a new generation of excited scientists.
Max Kramer