• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Choose which site to search.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Translational Research Institute
  • UAMS Health
  • Jobs
  • Giving
  • About TRI
    • What We Offer
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Staff
    • Cite TRI
    • What is Translational Research?
    • Contact TRI
  • Funding Opportunities
    • Grants
      • Pilot Award Program
      • CTSA Multi-Institutional Pilot Award Program
      • Data Science Scholars Program
      • Team Science Voucher Program
      • Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Rural Research Award Program
    • Scholarships
      • KL2 Mentored Research Career Development Scholar Awards Program
      • HSIE (TL1) Training Program
      • Implementation Science Scholar Program
      • (STARs) Program – Strategies for Training and Advancing under-represented Researchers
      • MS-CTS Scholarship Program
    • Community
      • Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Scholars Program
      • Community Partners Educated as Arkansas Research Leaders (CPEARL) Program
    • Awardee Responsibilities
  • Services & Resources
    • Services
      • Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD) Consultation
      • Clinical Data Repository (AR-CDR)
      • Comprehensive Informatics Resource Core (CIRC)
      • Mock Study Sections
      • Research Participant Recruitment
      • Research Support/Clinical Trials Innovation Unit (CTIU)
      • The Center for Implementation Research
      • Research Ethics Consultation
    • Resources
      • ARresearch Registry
      • Center for Health Literacy
      • Data Safety Monitoring
      • UAMS Profiles
      • UAMS Rural Research Network
      • Other Resources
      • COVID-19 Research Guidelines
  • Career Development & Scholarships
    • Scholarship Opportunities
      • KL2 Mentored Research Career Development Scholar Awards Program
      • HSIE (TL1) Training Program
      • Data Science Scholars Program
      • Implementation Science Scholar Program
      • MS-CTS Scholarship Program
      • Translational Research Innovations and Partners (TRIP) Program
    • Training & Educational Opportunities
      • innOVATION Seminar Series
      • Path 2 K Program
      • Translational Workforce Development
      • Graduate Certificate in Implementation Science
      • Master’s Program in Clinical and Translational Sciences (MS-CTS)
      • Good Clinical Practice Training
    • Video/Knowledge Library
    • Didactic Training
    • Diversity Initiatives
  • Community
    • Community Engagement Leadership
    • Community Advisory Board
    • Community Engagement Partners
      • Community Partner Celebration
    • Community Engagement Services
      • Consultations and Technical Assistance
      • Community Review Boards
      • Arkansas Community Researcher Training (ArCRT)
      • Equipment Library
    • Integrating Special Populations
    • Programs and Funding
      • Community Partners Educated as Arkansas Research Leaders (CPEARL) Program
      • Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Scholars Program
      • Community Scientist Academy
    • Toolkits
      • CPEARL Toolkit
      • CSA Online Toolkit
  • Events
    • Lifespan Research Conference
  • Newsroom
  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. Translational Research Institute
  3. Community Scientist Academy Graduates First High School Class

Community Scientist Academy Graduates First High School Class

Shanell Young, a senior at Little Rock Parkview, wasn’t sure what to expect during the spring 2019 UAMS Translational Research Institute Community Scientist Academy. After receiving her

Shannell Young said the Community Scientist Academy taught her that research isn't just googling.
Shannell Young said the Community Scientist Academy taught her that research isn’t just googling.

graduation certificate at a UAMS ceremony, she went to the lectern to share her takeaways.

“What people actually refer to as research nowadays is really just googling,” she said. “After 10 weeks of participating in the Community Scientist Academy, we definitely feel different now. Research is not just googling.”

Young and her fellow graduates – the first high school students to attend the academy – came from across the Little Rock School District as Excel students in the Advanced Medical Sciences Program.

The academy, which held its first class in 2016, has graduated 81 community members. Its purpose is to increase community understanding about the research process and offer research decision-making opportunities to communities, patients and other stakeholders. It will remain focused on adult participants, although the Translational Research Institute will continue its partnership with the school district.

The opportunities offered academy graduates include reviewing grant applications; advising on research

UAMS' Nakita Lovelady, Ph.D., M.P.H., challenged the students to find their passion.
UAMS’ Nakita Lovelady, Ph.D., M.P.H., challenged the students to find their passion.

projects; serving on community review boards, community advisory boards and patient and family advisory councils; and assisting with ARresearch, a Translational Research Institute program that signs up potential volunteers for UAMS research studies.

Nakita Lovelady, Ph.D., M.P.H., challenged the high school students to discover their passion. Raised in Helena-West Helena, Lovelady witnessed up close the devastating impacts of chronic diseases, depression and violence within the African American community.  She recently earned her doctorate with a focus on interventions that address gun violence.

“Figure out what keeps the fire burning inside of you,” she said. “What do you talk about or read about all day? What issue is important to you? Who will you help? What difference do you want to make in this world or your community? Think about that and then identify how you can use research to achieve those goals. There are communities like mine, like yours, all across this nation that need you.”

Students were required to write a paper and create a poster using “photovoice,” which required them to

Haley Roberts said the academy exceeded her expectations.
Haley Roberts said the academy exceeded her expectations.

take a photo that depicts a health-related issue and write a long caption explaining the photo.

Haley Roberts, a senior at Central High School, said the academy exceeded her expectations.

“Coming in and actually getting to talk to people who are excited about what they’re talking about, who are excited about their job, that excitement spreads to you, too, and you become excited about it,” she said. “I think the whole program took us off guard. It wasn’t something that I expected to learn, to appreciate. Everyone is affected by research whether they know it or not.”

Roberts said she became engrossed in the topic she chose to write about – health care costs. “My paper was twice as long as it needed to be because I just enjoyed what I was writing about,” she said.

Acacia Nelson, a senior at Central High, said the academy showed her the role research can play in improving lives. The daughter of two law enforcement officers displayed a poster with a young African American boy holding a sign that says “Do Not Shoot!”

Acacia Nelson said the academy has inspired her to consider community research as a career.
Acacia Nelson said the academy has inspired her to consider community research as a career.

with a caption about the physical and mental trauma associated with police brutality.

Prior to attending the academy she had a narrow view of the jobs available in health care, but now she is revisiting her idea of becoming a nurse practitioner.

“It’s kind of opened my eyes to see that there’s different areas in the medical field that you can give back to the community. I’m really interested in public health. Just helping people – African American boys, homeless people, foster kids, I feel like research can make a difference.”

Zandria Brewer, a senior at Central High, displayed a poster of a young African American boy playing by himself in the rural Arkansas Delta. Her poster noted the health disparities for the African-American communities living where there is often no phone service, grocery stores or hospitals.

“If someone is really hurt, they may not make it,” said Brewer, who lived in Marianna near the Mississippi River when she was younger.

Zandria Brewer said the academy has inspired her to think about research as a career.
Zandria Brewer said the academy has inspired her to think about research as a career.

The poster project was perfect for her, she said. “I’m a visual learner, and during this academy we did a lot of visual things,” she said. “We got to choose what we wanted to research and it got to be something interesting and something relevant. The poster project helped me voice what’s happening now and ways to change it.”

TRI received the EXCEL Champion Award from the Little Rock School District after graduating students who participated in the TRI Community Scientist Academy.
The Translational Research Institute received the EXCEL Champion Award from the Little Rock School District after graduating students who participated in the Community Scientist Academy.

Posted by uamsonline on April 30, 2019

Filed Under: Front, News, Newsroom Tagged With: Community Scientist Academy, Little Rock School District, Translational Research Institute, UAMS

Translational Research Institute LogoTranslational Research InstituteTranslational Research Institute
Mailing Address: 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-7000
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

© 2023 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences