» LEAP (Launch into Education About Pharmacology) at Duke

LEAP is a year-round science enrichment program targeting tenth and eleventh graders in the Piedmont area ( Durham, Orange, Wake, Person, Chatham, and Alamance counties). Offered by the Duke University's RISE (Raising Interest in Science Education) office in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, this program presents a pharmacology course to provide students with a context that excites them about science, instills science literacy, and inspires them to consider careers in science. The summer course includes a multi-structural approach to learning; 1) lectures, 2) inquiry-based lab experiments, 3) field-trips, and 4) writing a mini-biography of researchers they interview. During the following year, students meet with the faculty and design a research project addressing pharmacology concepts or develop a presentation on a controversial issue in pharmacology that is in the news. Students present their research projects at the N.C. Student Academy of Sciences annual meeting and N.C. Regional Science Fair.

» Participating High Schools

Previous participants have hailed from high schools from the Durham area and surrounding counties.



Alamance County

Eastern Alamance High School

Southern Alamance High School

Walter Williams High School

Chatham County

Jordan-Matthews High School

Northwood High School

Durham County

C.E. Jordan High School

Durham School of the Arts

Hillside High School

Riverside High School

Southern Durham High School

Granville County

South Granville SLHS

Orange County

Chapel Hill High School

East Chapel Hill High School

Orange High School

Person County

Person High School

Wake County

Athens Drive High School

Cary High School

Green Hope High School

Leesville Road High School

» Burroughs Wellcome Fund

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund provides funds for the Student Science Enrichment Program or SSEP. LEAP is the recent receipient of one such SSEP award. MORE »