Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA)

The Texas Biomed NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) is now accepting applications for Teacher Cohort 3.

Texas Biomedical Research Institute has been awarded the NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA). The SEPA program, It’s Contagious! Promoting the Biomedical Workforce Pipeline through Infectious Diseases is seeking secondary STEM content teachers (high school and middle school science, math, and technology) to participate in this educational research program. This is a one-year commitment in which teachers will engage with current infectious disease research and meet Texas Biomed researchers. Teachers will then design activities to enhance existing curriculum. Activities feature current research data and connect classroom content to career opportunities.

The SEPA program aims to:

1. Increase connections between infectious disease research and classroom content,
2. Increase student awareness of biomedical career opportunities, and
3. Support teachers in the application of data to inform their teaching practices.

Teacher Eligibility Requirements

The SEPA grant is an educational research project requiring the collection and analysis of data, including student data. Eligible teachers must be at a school or district with an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Texas Biomed.

The following districts/schools have an MOU:

• San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD)
• Center for Applied Special Technology (all CAST campuses)
• Judson Independent School District (JISD)
• Incarnate Word High School
• Southwest ISD (SWISD)

Applicants must teach at the middle or high school level, grades 6 through 12. Applicants should anticipate teaching a science, math, or technology course in the 2025-26 academic year. However, other disciplines are considered for the program and are welcome to apply.

Program Timeline

The program includes a four-week summer professional development program at Texas Biomed: June 9-12 (M-Th); June 16-18 (M-W), and June 23-27 (M-F); July 7-11 (M-F). The program starts promptly at 8:30 am and runs until 3:30 pm. The program does not meet the week of July 4^th, June 30^th – July 4^th.

During the academic year, 2025-2026, cohort members participate in monthly Community of Practice (CoP) meetings at Texas Biomed. The three-hour CoP meetings are scheduled for either Saturdays or Sundays. Specific meeting dates and times are determined by cohort consensus during the summer.

Compensation

Successful applicants are Texas Biomed consultants and will be compensated through Texas Biomed. Participants will sign a consultant agreement outlining specific program requirements and compensation. For full participation in the year-long cohort study, teachers are compensated a maximum of $6,000, divided over the course of the year ($4,000/summer and $1,000 for each semester based on data collection and CoP participation).

Application Window

Applications are accessed on this page. Applications open January 6, 2025.  The last day to submit applications is February 14, 2025. Applicants will receive an automated email response indicating successful application submission. All applicants will be notified of their status on or before March 7, 2025.