Let 'Em Be Doctors

Emory’s School of Medicine, in collaboration with Emory College, Atlanta Public Schools, and the Atlanta Area Health Education Center, has received a three-year, $1.8 million grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services to get high-school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds engaged with career opportunities in health professions. 

The new initiative, Emory Pipeline Collaborative (EPiC), aims to prepare students from five Atlanta high schools for entry into health professions by increasing academic achievement, improving college readiness, strengthening social support, and broadening student awareness of pathways to health careers. The project is an expansion of Emory’s Pipeline Program, which began in 2007.

“Nationally, there is a lack of minority and low socioeconomic applicants applying to health sciences degree programs,” says Robert Lee, associate dean and director of multicultural medical student affairs at the School of Medicine. “Funding opportunities such as this one are vital because they support our ongoing efforts to address the educational barriers and social needs of high school students and increase their exposure and access to health sciences at a pivotal time.”