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The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the McWane Science Center have partnered for over 20 years to provide secondary students in Alabama opportunities to conduct inquiry-based, standards-aligned science labs. LabWorks (middle school) and GENEius (high school) programs offer multiple research laboratory experiences in which students explore molecular biology, physical science, genetics, engineering, anatomy, and forensic science, with associated summer professional development for teachers: BioTeach and GeoTeach. These programs each attract 3,000-4,000 participants annually. This partnership has been synergistic, allowing the science center to offer high-level secondary science programming, while giving the university a conduit into the K-12 world. Originally, these programs were developed through Howard Hughes Medical Institute funding, and then expanded through support from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Education. These programs have excited secondary students and teachers about science education and careers, provided authentic science experiences, and given teachers the opportunity to experience a model of learning that engages students in "real science" closely linked to their curriculum. For over 20 years, this unique, evolving partnership has increased the understanding of over 90,000 students and teachers relative to the opportunities that science and STEM careers hold.

Perinatal exposure to taurine (a β-amino acid) can alter adult physiological functions, including arterial pressure, hormonal and renal functions. Whereas perinatal taurine supplementation appears to have only minor effects on adult physiology, perinatal taurine depletion is associated with multiple adverse health effects, especially in animals postnatally exposed to other insults. New studies indicate that the mechanism for many of the physiological effects of taurine is related to the antioxidant activity of taurine. Thus the perinatal taurine depletion leads to oxidative stress in adult animals. It is likely that perinatal taurine depletion increases oxidative stress throughout life and that the early life taurine depletion leads to perinatal, epigenetic programming that impacts adult physiological function.