As part of their visit to campus, the students were able to get hands-on with medical training tools in the Center for Simulation and Innovation
College’s campus welcomes premier high school students from across the country to explore careers in health fields
Encouraging students to explore their interests in science and medicine has always been central to the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix’s mission. And recently, that charge was taken to a grander scale.
Brought together by Caroline Berger, director of Corporate and Community Relations for U of A Health Sciences Communications, the College of Medicine – Phoenix — along with the U of A Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing and Public Health — welcomed more than 80 of the top high school students from across the country to the Phoenix Bioscience Core (PBC) campus for a day of hands-on learning and exploration.
The students — chosen for their outstanding original scientific research — were part of the *American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS), a program of the non-profit National Association of Academies of Science (NAAS). Being selected for the AJAS earns the students a myriad of opportunities, including the chance to travel to multiple cutting-edge lectures and laboratory tours. This year, it brought them to Phoenix, where — among other things — they met with researchers in the lab of the Center for Applied NanoBioscience and Medicine (ANBM) — including the center’s director Frederic Zenhausern, PhD, MBA.
“They take these lab tour experiences with them as a practical insight into their scientific futures, sometimes with a direct impact,” said Brigid Moran, AJAS program manager “I’ve seen students work in the very labs they toured years after their AJAS conference.”
Moran added, “Often times, they leave feeling empowered in the field they know they are interested in; other times, they leave with some insight into a field they never considered but now want to learn more.”
The trip to the PBC proved to be a valuable one for many of the attendees. “I aspire to be either a biomedical engineer or a chemical engineer, and I thought that some of the experiences I had today with seeing the labs — especially the different flow assays, the lateral flow assays and the vertical flow assays — I thought it was a really interesting way to see how these cross dimensional fields could intersect in a way that impacts human health,” said Lucas B., a junior from New Jersey.
Kaylene H., a recent graduate from high school in Nebraska, noted that she hopes to work in environmental sciences, influencing how the laws protect our surroundings. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about how labs function and how scientists work together and how they think; and, overall, it’s just been a very eye-opening experience to what my future could look like,” she said.
The day was just as rewarding for the College of Medicine – Phoenix’s students who participated in other elements of the visit. Nas Halloum, a current member of the Pathway Scholars Program, volunteered to help run the student’s stop at the college’s Center for Simulation and Innovation, where the NAAS students got to train with equipment — such as the ophthalmology eye trainer and minimally invasive surgery tools — the medical students use every day.
“I once stood in the same position as those high school students. When I was exploring my future, learning about medicine and seeing what it had to offer sparked my passion for the field,” he said. “I hoped to give students a hands-on glimpse into the possibilities within medicine … to help create that same spark for them and inspire the next generation to pursue careers in health care.”
In addition to the tours, students also interacted with representatives from those other U of A Health Sciences Colleges; enjoyed a catered lunch; and had a Q&A with a panel of medical, pharmacy and nursing students to learn more about their respective studies and why they chose to pursue them.
*To participate in the AJAS, a student must be selected by their state or regional Academy of Science on the basis of conducting superior original STEM research while in high school. Students will present this research, in poster format, at the AJAS Annual Conference and their abstracts will be published in the AAAS proceedings.
About the College
Founded in 2007, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix inspires and trains exemplary physicians, scientists and leaders to advance its core missions in education, research, clinical care and service to communities across Arizona. The college’s strength lies in our collaborations and partnerships with clinical affiliates, community organizations and industry sponsors. With our primary affiliate, Banner Health, we are recognized as the premier academic medical center in Phoenix. As an anchor institution of the Phoenix Bioscience Core, the college is home to signature research programs in neurosciences, cardiopulmonary diseases, immunology, informatics and metabolism. These focus areas uniquely position us to drive biomedical research and bolster economic development in the region.
As an urban institution with strong roots in rural and tribal health, the college has graduated more than 1,000 physicians and matriculates 130 students each year. Greater than 60% of matriculating students are from Arizona and many continue training at our GME sponsored residency programs, ultimately pursuing local academic and community-based opportunities. While our traditional four-year program continues to thrive, we will launch our recently approved accelerated three-year medical student curriculum with exclusive focus on primary care. This program is designed to further enhance workforce retention needs across Arizona.
The college has embarked on our strategic plan for 2025 to 2030. Learn more.
By: Thomas Kelly | February 26, 2026 | Original Post