|
|
|
|
| |
|
News |
|
|
|
Local Students Visit EPH Labs“How many eggs, on average, do female tsetse flies lay?” “How many days old is that pupa?” “Is there a difference in how long male and female tsetse flies live?” The questions were almost coming faster than Douglas Smith, an EPH research assistant, could answer them as he showed students from New Haven’s Sheridan Communications and Technology Middle School around EPH’s insectary. The visit to the insectary was part of the students’ session in Dr. Serap Aksoy’s laboratory, where they learned about tsetse and trypanosomes.
Similar interactions occurred throughout EPH on March 5, as 50 Sheridan students in grades 5-8 spent the day visiting nine EPH laboratories. The students, winners at Sheridan’s science fair, had the opportunity to talk to scientists and visit the labs where they work. They learned about topics ranging from the HIV virus, discussed by Dr. Louis Alexander, to the molecular genetics of mosquito disease vectors, discussed by Dr. Liangbiao Zheng, and got hands-on experience with lab equipment. The EPH-Sheridan exchange began last March, when nearly 100 Sheridan students broke into groups to visit EPH, the School of Medicine and Kline Biology Tower in a day arranged by Dr. Huân Ngô, a science lab teacher at Sheridan since 2002, and formerly an associate research scientist at Yale. This year, because of the strong organization of the program at EPH and the extremely positive experience last year’s students had, all of the students visited EPH.
Upon their arrival, Betsey Talcott, Assistant Director of Admissions at EPH, gave the students a summary of what public health is and what epidemiologists do. Dr. Curtis Patton, Global Health Division Head and Professor in the Division of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases (EMD), followed with a brief lecture on Lyme Disease, a topic with which many of the students were familiar. Following lunch, the students broke into groups of five or six and started the part of the day they had most anticipated: getting into the labs. Each group visited four of the nine labs that hosted students.
In Dr. Nancy Ruddle’s laboratory, students heard a presentation about diabetes. Then Fred Oliver, a postdoctoral fellow, fielded questions such as “if you have type 2 diabetes, will your child?”, while Danielle Drayton, an immunobiology graduate student, helped students to figure out whether or not the slides of mouse pancreas they were looking at were from a mouse with diabetes. In Dr. Melinda Pettigrew’s lab, the students examined bacteria cultures, and painstakingly noted the spelling of Streptococcus pneumoniae on worksheets detailing what they learned. In addition, the students heard about African trypanosomes from Dr. Christian Tschudi and Dr. Nathalie Chamond, emerging infections from Shirley Tirrell, M.P.H., the needle exchange program from Dr. Robert Heimer, hormone effects on body fluid regulation from Dr. Nina Stachenfeld, and vaccines against the parasitic disease leishmaniasis from Karen Goldsmith-Pestana in Dr. Diane McMahon-Pratt’s lab.
Dr. Ngô said that the day spent at EPH was a rare opportunity for his students’ interest in science to be “rewarded and reinforced by spending time in real labs with real scientists.” For him, the visit is one step toward the larger goal of improving the quality of education, particularly in the sciences, math and technology, for students who face socioeconomic challenges. “It’s my job to drive these kids, raise their expectations, raise what they expect of themselves, raise what other people expect of them…. Hopefully we’re going to even out the odds a little bit,” he said. Dr. Ngô told the EPH faculty involved in the day’s activities that “the students had a very clear recall of the labs and what you were doing. You made an impression…. I believe you opened more doors (than just your laboratory) for the children of New Haven.” The program, coordinated at EPH by Dr. McMahon-Pratt, Professor of Epidemiology in EMD, Dr. Linda Niccolai, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in EMD, and Elaine Anderson, Director of Alumni and Community Affairs at EPH, was considered a success at EPH as well. “Everyone in EPH was very impressed by the Sheridan School students – they had great questions and were really engaged and enthusiastic. It was fun having them visit. We need more young people like them – interested in science and public health,” said Dr. McMahon-Pratt. -Story by Christy Gordon, based on interviews with Hu‰n Ng™ on March 4, 2004, and Diane McMahon-Pratt on March 10, 2004. |
||||
|
 |
|
