The Murad Family Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to promoting Inclusive Health in education and action to help young people to lead healthier, happier and more connected lives, has partnered with the El Segundo (CA) Education Foundation to be the founding sponsor of Project Lead the Way: Biomedical Sciences Pathway at El Segundo High School (ESHS) in El Segundo, CA.

The Biomedical Sciences Pathway was created to give students the opportunity to become engaged in science by investigating, examining and solving medical challenges and is designed to prepare students to be productive leaders in science, technology and medicine, and to make meaningful, pioneering contributions to our world. Students will be introduced to the medical pathway in 9th grade and will continue the program through the 12th grade, preparing them to successfully complete baccalaureate and advanced medical programs. Approximately 250 students will be enrolled in the program. Throughout the course of the four-year sponsorship, Murad Family Foundation will donate up to $180,000 to the El Segundo Education Foundation earmarked to support the Biomedical Sciences Pathway program.

“The Murad Family Foundation is extremely excited about this partnership and also thrilled to support such an important program,” said Hilarie Murad, Foundation President. “Biomedical Sciences Pathway is a great complement to the current curricula that is normally offered in High School and we are excited to see how this program will help inspire, shape and mold the students of today to become the leaders of our future.”

Biomedical Sciences Pathway, which will launch during the 2012-2013 school year, is a sequence of four courses to be taken in the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades with the curriculum increasing in rigor and intensity each year, building upon the previous knowledge and skills acquired. Students will learn the concepts of human medicine and bioinformatics through hands-on, real-world problem solving activities such as dissecting. The curriculum also challenges students to explore prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.

“With the funding from the Murad Family Foundation, students at ESHS will now be able to embark on medical sciences studies before they get to college,” said Carol Pirsztuk, CEO of the El Segundo Education Foundation. “We are very excited to have created this partnership which will offer our students the opportunity to gain the necessary skills to succeed in an industry that benefits society as a whole.”

For more information on the Project Lead the Way: Biomedical Sciences Pathway program, visit www.pltw.org. For more information on the El Segundo Education Foundation, visit ESEdF.org or call 310-615-2650 ext. 229. For more information on the Murad Family Foundation, visit www.muradfamilyfoundation.org.