The Introductory College Level Experience in Microbiology (iCLEM) summer intensive, hosted and run by the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in Emeryville, immerses Bay Area high school students in the biological sciences through a curriculum of instruction, hands-on basic laboratory skill training, and tours of working labs within JBEI and local biotech companies. Since the program first launched in 2008, 95% of participants have gone on to continue their education at two or four-year colleges and universities, with 80% majoring in science or engineering. Given that the program specifically recruits teens who face socioeconomic hurdles to higher education, this impressive attendance rate is a point of pride among the scientists and educators who make iCLEM happen. Hoping to spread their prodigiously successful model beyond the confines of JBEI, a group of former and current scientific advisors have shared the iCLEM curriculum in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education.

Read more in the Berkeley Lab News Center.