A Scientific Program in Regenerative Engineering (ASPIRE): A Prospective Program Aimed at Tackling Health Disparities in the USA.

Abstract

The continued low numbers of Blacks in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) represent an American crisis that threatens growing awareness and efforts to effectively address health disparities that affect the Black population. Regenerative engineering is an emerging STEMM field that seeks to combine principles from engineering, life sciences, physics, and medicine to develop new technologies for repairing and regenerating damaged tissues and organs. We believe that regenerative engineering has the potential to address some of the root causes of health disparities by developing new approaches that are more accessible and affordable, particularly for low-income communities and people living in rural areas. We have developed a new education program targeting to K-12 groups "A Scientific Program in Regenerative Engineering (ASPIRE)" that supports the mentoring and education of Black K-12 students to enter successfully and thrive as professionals in STEMM particularly in the area of regenerative engineering. We have been collaborating with several public-school systems in Connecticut, especially among the regions with health disparities to implement the program. We believe our new educational K-12 program would serve as a vehicle to reduce health disparities in the region.