Spelman College
Spelman Raises Mentoring Female Scientists to an Art

Spelman College biology majors Darryylnn Nelson (left) and her lab partner Elizabeth Adeyemi evaluate the role of a gene in DNA mismatch repair in yeast as part of a Molecular Biology and Genomics course developed with a previous HHMI grant. The students and their lab partner, Zackiya Grant, were chosen to present the class's work at the annual research day.

Spelman College will go to great lengths to make sure its students succeed, even turning to the silver screen. With a portion of its $1.4 million grant from HHMI, student filmmakers at the Atlanta college will create a full-length documentary film examining the lives of recent Spelman graduates who are now pursuing successful scientific careers.

The movie is just the beginning of a larger effort to highlight successful scientists who may serve as an inspiration for science majors at the school. Spelman, which was founded after the Civil War to educate African American women, is completely revamping its mentoring program in the biological sciences with the HHMI funds.

"The film will focus on lifestyle choices Spelman graduates have made as scientists and as women struggling to balance their work lives and home lives," said biology department chair Cynthia Bauerle, Spelman's HHMI program director. "We hope the movie will speak to young alumnae who are struggling with the same issues and help keep them in the field." Production will begin in fall 2008, and the film should be ready by early summer 2009.

The mentoring program will also pair successful Spelman alumnae who are pursuing careers in science with female Atlanta high school students who are interested in science. The hope is the mentors will encourage students to maintain their dreams and passion about science as they begin thinking about and enter college. Spelman will provide training for its alumnae mentors on strategies to help the high school students make the transition from high school to college. When the college informed its biology alumnae about plans for this mentorship program, it received more volunteers than it could handle. Bauerle hopes the program can eventually expand to include all the alumnae, who are eager to participate in this project.

Every summer, a large number of Spelman students conduct research off-campus at other universities. The college will add a new facet to its mentoring program by placing its students in the labs of top minority women scientists at research universities across the United States. "We sought out established female minority scientists around the country, and every one we contacted agreed to take a Spelman student into their labs in the summer," Bauerle said.

The college will also use its grant to hire a new microbiology professor, create more genomics courses, and develop interdisciplinary science classes. "We want to link biology to other areas of science," Bauerle said. "We think this is critical because many biologists today work closely with colleagues in other fields. We need to prepare our students to take their place in the world outside our walls."

Photo: Nathan Bolster