Crucial to the mission of the UA Physiology Department is to stimulate interest in the sciences and facilitate the progress of young people toward health careers. Our faculty and students participate in a number of activities, including:
PhysioWorks
The PhysioWorks Program was designed to help Physiology Undergraduates connect with growth opportunities on and off campus. These range from volunteering at the local diaper bank and working as a pharmacy technician in Tucson, to shadowing medical professionals in Spain or working to build homes in Romania. The Physioworks Database is supported through the Physiology Department and the University of Arizona's Office of Student Engagement and 100% Engagement Initiative.
JTED
The Pima JTED offers premier, tuition-free Career and Technical Education programs to high school sophomores, juniors and seniors. The UA Department of Physiology students, under the direction of Physiology faculty member and JTED board member Cindy Rankin, PhD, regularly present to these students their experience going to college and information about the physiology undergraduate major.
The Arizona RETINA Project
The Arizona RETINA Project (Researchers Educating Tucson in Natural-Light Adaptation) is an NSF outreach program, led by Dr. Erika Eggers. The program sponsors UA undergraduate students to educate the community on how light adaptation in the eye works and the importance of this process for normal vision. By participating in community events, such as the annual Tucson Festival of Books, and publishing a blog on vision research, the program aims to increase interest in science for high school students and the public.