Arizona Educator, Art Borja, Tapped for CDC Fellowship

GLENDALE, AZ, USA, July 10, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has named a local science teacher, Art Borja, a 2024 CDC Science Ambassador Fellow. He was one of 30 applicants selected for the Fellowship. Applications for the fellowship were received from across the states and several foreign countries. The chosen fellows include secondary and college educators, researchers, and public health professionals. The initial training will be held from July 15 to 19 at CDC headquarters in Atlanta.

In the year-long course, fellows will be immersed in a wealth of knowledge, learning foundational epidemiology and public health concepts, practicing using CDC lesson plans, and collaborating with CDC experts to develop STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) materials and becoming ambassadors for teaching public health. This unique learning experience is sure to ignite their passion for public health education.
Fellows will also participate in special sessions with the Epidemic Intelligence Service and visit the CDC’s Emergency Operations Center, the David J. Sencer CDC Museum, and the CDC’s Laboratory Training Facility.

Following the summer course, Borja and the other fellows will engage in a year-long distance-based partnership with the CDC. Activities will include virtual training on epidemiology and public health concepts, as well as leadership and networking sessions related to teaching public health.

During the fellowship, Borja will pilot public health lesson plans in the classroom, present at local teacher conferences or meetings, and consult on developing public health-based resource materials for middle and high school teachers nationwide. These activities will not only contribute to his personal growth but also significantly impact public health education. Borja stated, “The ultimate goal of this experience is to bring real-world experiences and public health education into the community.”

Borja began his career as a science teacher in 1999 through the Troops to Classroom program after leaving active duty with the US Navy. A native of Mexico City, he has health care in his blood. The son of a father who was a career Navy hospital corpsman who rose from the enlisted ranks to retire after 30 years with the rank of Commander and a post as a hospital administrator. His mother was a career surgeon In Mexico City. Borja has multiple advanced degrees in biology and astrophysics, and he most recently finished a master’s in public health degree. He is slated to graduate from nursing school and begin a PhD in Health Sciences in the fall. In addition to working full-time as a science teacher, Borja works part-time as a nurse extern in the neurology unit at Honor Health’s Deer Valley Medical Center.

This summer, Borja also participated in the University of Utah’s Climate, Health, and the Science of Solutions Summer Institute, where he learned about various aspects of climate change and human health from subject matter experts. Borja learned about cutting-edge research in air quality and organ systems, viruses, vector-borne pathogens, food security and cultivating for survival in a changing world. Borja also participated in the Genetic Tech Investigations Institute at the University of Utah. Borja’s enthusiasm for teaching science is palpable; he said he is “most excited about learning information directly from researchers and disease investigators and then to be able to go above and beyond and collaborate with other educators from across the nation to bring public health education awareness to Arizona and to inspire the next generations of health professionals that are so badly needed in our state.”

Outside of his school and hospital work, Borja has had work published in professional journals and has made presentations at national conferences. In 2014, he was a science communication fellow aboard Dr. Robert Ballard’s (of Titanic discovery fame). In 2015, he received an EarthWatch Teacher Fellowship to study climate change in the Andean cloud forest of Ecuador. He was also a 2019 ambassador with the prestigious Astronomy in Chile Ambassador Educators Program. This year, Borja also received the honor of being selected as a recipient of an ASU / NASA LiftOff Summer.

For more information about the CDC Fellowship and other CDC STEM programs please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/scienceambassador/index.html
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