Incoming freshmen interested in pursuing a career in health care will be offered specially tailored opportunities through the new Cardea Fellows Program, University officials announced last month.
The Cardea Fellows Program, a four-year pre-health fellowship that will launch this Fall, is geared for students committed to preparing for any kind of health profession by completing core coursework in math and science, administrators said. The application deadline for admission to the inaugural class of Cardea Fellows-which will consist of 15 to 18 students-is July 23.
Lee Baker, dean of academic affairs of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, said the program will benefit students who have not had the opportunity to develop a strong foundation in science and math. Baker noted, however, that the fellows may not necessarily lack advanced coursework in these subjects.
"The students might normally have a strong background in science, but so many Duke students come in with a super strong background with many [Advanced Placement] credits," he said. "We want to ensure that every student has the chance to be as competitive as possible."
Cardea Fellows must enroll in Chemistry 20D-a Fall introductory course for students with limited background in chemistry-and participate in a specially designed first-year seminar in biology taught by Daniel Scheirer, chief pre-health adviser and associate dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.
The seminar titled "Medical Biology: Linking the Principles of Biology and Medicine," will explore the history of biology and the role biology has played in major medical advancements, according to the Cardea Fellows Web site.
"The Medical Biology seminar is based on what I broadly call 'issues-based biology,'" Scheirer wrote in an e-mail. "By this, I mean that science is presented as a discovery process and is directly derived from medical issues, which provide a bridge to understanding the fundamental concepts of biology."
By focusing on basic biological concepts in the context of medicine, students can develop integrated thinking skills and discover science as a process and apply it to their world, Scheirer said.
"There is an intentional shift from memorizing facts and from vocabulary to thinking about biology as a set of multi-level concepts," he said.
The program aims to help students fulfill their pre-health course requirements, Lynn White, assistant dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and assistant dean for pre-major advising, wrote in an e-mail.
"We're hoping the program will help them to build the skills that will allow them to be successful in the pre-health curriculum at Duke," White said.
Cardea Fellows will also be able to develop academic skills in problem-solving courses, engage in research and receive personalized advising about coursework and extracurricular activities, according to the Web site. In addition, upperclass fellows will mentor freshmen and sophomores in the program.
Baker said he hopes the unique program will inspire other institutions to develop similar programs for their students.
"This is a novel and interesting idea," he said. "We wanted to be a trendsetter, and we hope other universities will follow."
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