Paula Deming, Ph.D., M.S., associate dean for faculty affairs and research and an associate professor at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is a principal investigator for the New American Youth on the Rise (NAYR) project. The initiative was launched in 2021 by Anne Dougherty, M.D., M.A., the director of gender equity in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and an associate professor at the Larner College of Medicine, with Rachel Wetchi, M.P.H., fulfilling the role of outreach coordinator. The co-investigator team includes assistant professors Bikki Tran Smith, Brit Williams, and Eliana Castro, along with Professor Julie Dumas. Supported by over $1.3 million from the NIH’s R25 Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA), the NAYR project's goal is to introduce middle and high school girls from immigrant and first-generation American families in Chittenden County, Vermont, to health sciences careers. This grant is the university's first SEPA award.

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