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The Scripps Research Institute Selects Two Florida High School Teachers for Summer Internship Program in La Jolla California

La Jolla, CA, May 4, 2004 - The Scripps Research Institute today named two science teachers from the Palm Beach County School District to participate in the Institute's 2004 Bank of America Summer Internship Program for Teachers in La Jolla, California.

Scott Morone, who teaches Biology and Anatomy & Physiology courses at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach, and Audra Davis, who teaches Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Integrated Science at Palm Beach Lakes Community High School in West Palm Beach, will spend eight weeks conducting biomedical research alongside Scripps Research's world-class scientists on the oceanside campus in La Jolla, the northernmost part of the city of San Diego.

Made possible by a gift from Bank of America, Palm Beach County, travel and housing costs will be covered for Davis and Morone, along with stipends for the eight week program, which runs June 21-August 13, 2004.

The selected Palm Beach County teachers will join five local San Diego science educators in the teacher program, which is generously supported this year by Bank of America, San Diego, and the John and Susan Diekman Fellowship.

"We welcome Audra and Scott as the first representatives of Scripps Research's expansion into Palm Beach County," said internship program director Jennifer O'Sullivan. "In future years, we hope to establish an internship program at Scripps Florida that will improve science teaching in local high schools and encourage young people to pursue careers in science, the goals of our summer activity in San Diego."

The greater Summer Research Internship Program at Scripps Research this year will also include 24 San Diego-area high school students and six undergraduates from across the country who will become members of working labs in the departments of Cell Biology, Chemistry, Immunology, Molecular Biology, and Neuropharmacology.

Scott Morone, 33, of Delray Beach, teaches Honors and International Baccalaureate Biology and Honors Anatomy and Physiology at Atlantic, where he has been employed since 1995. Scott has a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University in Tempe. He is particularly interested in immunology and cell biology.

Audra Davis of West Palm Beach has taught at Palm Beach Lakes for the past six years, after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree from Alabama A&M University in Normal, a Master of Arts degree from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and teaching high school math for two years in Alabama. Audra hopes to gain hands-on experience in the Institute's labs that she can transfer to the classroom to demonstrate the relevance of science in her student's lives.

The internship program emphasizes the scientific process, research planning, bench experience, experimental design, data analysis and interaction with laboratory personnel. In addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, summer interns will attend specially designed programs and field trips throughout the course of the summer, and will present their work at a final program attended by faculty, family, friends, donors and school officials.

As one of the world's leading basic biomedical research institutions, Scripps Research has provided intensive, hands-on laboratory experiences to local educators and students for more than a decade in order to fulfill its commitment to training the next generation of scientists and perpetuating scientific knowledge. Scripps Florida, the new facility in Palm Beach County, will likely include a summer internship program for secondary school teachers and students beginning in 2005.

For more information contact:
Keith McKeown
10550 North Torrey Pines Road
La Jolla, California 92037

Tel: 858.784.8134
Fax: 858.784.8118
kmckeown@scripps.edu