The summer kick-off for a group of Bronx high school students involved a lot of pesky bugs and microscopes.
Eighteen sophomores and juniors at University Heights High School in the South Bronx spent a week in June studying the impact of diet and nutrition on tumor growth, using Drosophila, better known as the common fruit fly, as their model organism. A new summer program, organized by the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center’s (HICCC) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office and its Community Outreach and Engagement office, provides middle and high school students in the Columbia University Irving Medical Center neighborhood with hands-on lab experiments. study cancer. The program gives young students direct exposure to research, science and medicine levels.
The in-person classroom experiment was led by a virtual lecture and educational organization called the eCLOSE Institute, along with Columbia faculty, students and staff. The new program is part of an initiative by HICCC to promote and support local, diverse middle- and high school students interested in science and medicine but who may not have the opportunity or resources to gain hands-on scientific research or lab experience. HICCC partners with eCLOSE, which brings together teacher-scientist teams to provide cutting-edge research in the classroom, and with University Heights High School, whose multicultural student body consists of a majority population of Black, Hispanic and first-generation students.
The next generation of physicians and scientists
“I really like science, math and chemistry,” said participant Eliannie Ramirez, a fourteen-year-old rising at University Heights who also takes part in the school’s robotics team. “This program was a great opportunity for me to see how to actually take a biology class and actually do laboratory research. The experiments were all really cool.” Eliannie has a tour in medical school to specialize in cardiothoracic surgery.
For Ebube-Chisom Okwuka, 15, a rising sophomore at University Heights, the introduction of scientific equipment and lab equipment, including a burette measuring device and a USB microscope, was a highlight. On the same subject : What We Miss When We Don’t Reframe the History of Science.
“After being exposed to a lot of scientific laboratory equipment, I am curious about how contemporary technology is being used to find better cancer treatments and how modern technology can be improved to help scientists find better treatments for other diseases,” said Ebube, who also codes games and participate in the robotics team. “After the program ended, I became interested in using technology in medicine and saw myself working on the technology side of the medical field.”
Building diversity in science and medicine
Each student works with a fruit fly science kit provided to them at the beginning of the week that includes a microscope, pipette, mini balance and other equipment needed for the experiment. Students learn critical lab skills, hypothesis generation, data collection and analysis. This may interest you : Across the South, NIL is forcing the hands of high school athletic associations. They also learned about dilution, sample weighing and pipetting, as well as how to sort the gender and phenotype of the fruit flies. In the fall, students will gather at HICCC for a poster session where each student will present their project findings in front of HICCC leadership, faculty and graduate students.
Sandra Ryeom, PhD, associate director of DEI at HICCC, was instrumental in bringing the eCLOSE partnership to Columbia and aims to improve Columbia’s pipeline of various trainees, starting with outreach to middle schools.
“The excitement and engagement of University High School students during this week is inspiring,” said Dr. Ryeom, associate professor of surgery at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Medicine and Surgery. “Many of these students have come to me because they want to continue their research at HICCC and are interested in applying to Columbia for a bachelor’s degree. We will continue to expand this program to other middle schools and high schools in our local area, which will contribute to the diversification of the biomedical workforce.
“Regarding this, what we hope to do every time is to make the students really involved in research, science and medicine,” said Dara Ruiz-Whalen, who founded eCLOSE and is a teacher colleague, with Alfonse Bowman, from the new. HICCC program.
It is where fifteen-year-old fifth-grader Carlos Jose Cedano Llano was inspired to learn more about science and medicine.
“I have always been interested in a career in science and have thought about becoming an engineer or a computer science engineer,” says Carlos. “This program opened my eyes to medicine and showed me how it works. It made me more interested in how medicine works and the impact it has on people and cancer.
Photo credit: Timothy Lee Photography
