First off, the kids at St. Joe were great.  They were definitely a lot better behaved than I was when I was in high school. The CAFG lab was a great success.  We started each day with a brief lecture, which usually included powerpoint slides. On one of the days, I forgot my computer and I noticed that some students had trouble visualizing the concepts I was describing, even though I attempted to draw similar pictures (from the original powerpoint) on the blackboard.   I believe students learn best through different modes of instruction.  Thus, it is best to offer as many tools (powerpoint, chalk and talk, video, hands on, Q and A, etc.) as possible to reach as many students as possible.

I will try to describe what the students learned throughout the week and a half (because of a break) as best as possible.  First, we explained to the students that they would be cloning a fluorescent gene during the lab.  So, we discussed what a gene was and of course a gene is not fluorescent, it’s respective protein product is!  A major point of the lab was that the students got to see (literally, because of the fluorescence) how DNA is turned into a protein and how we can visualize this result in a lab setting.  The students used PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to make millions of copies of GFP (green fluorescent protein)  DNA and then inserted this DNA into a vector.  They learned that a vector is a unique manufactured form of circular DNA that researchers often use to transport genetic material into a cell.  Using the vector, which now contained GFP DNA, the students then inserted the GFP vector into E. coli cells.  We then spent some time explaining that while the GFP vector was inside the cell, the E. coli would use it’s transcriptional machinery (DNA polymerase, etc.) to make many copies of the GFP vector and also produce mRNA transcripts of the GFP gene.  Next, we discussed how the E. coli would use it’s translational machinery (ribosomes, etc.) to make protein from the GFP mRNA.  Finally, the students were able to visualize the GFP protein using a long wave black light that excited the GFP fluorophores and were able to “paint” pictures using their fluorescent bacteria.   In the end, the students were able to see how genes encoded by DNA could produce a protein and how as researchers we have the ability to manipulate DNA sequences.

I had a lot of fun with the CAFG week, and I look forward to doing this again.  I am going to try and attach some photos taken by one of the teachers from the week to this post.  I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!  I will see you soon.

Whenever I explain to other people that I am studying retinal regeneration in zebrafish with the hopes that one day scientists will find a way to induce regeneration in humans, I am amazed by the number of people depending on regenerative research to produce therapeutic results in the near future.  There are so many of us who know one person or another who is suffering from an incurable disease or illness and we all hope that a magic cure will soon be identified.  Although I am confident that new and exciting cures are just around the corner, often times I find that the best way that I can help is to simply share as much knowledge about the science I am studying as possible with the people who need to hear it.

This brings me to another point I’d like to make and I think this point speaks for all of us in the NDeRC program.  Although our motivation to do science may be driven by the desire to discover new and exciting ways to help other people (either medically, socially, or environmentally), another way in which we can help people everyday is through the simple task of sharing our knowledge.  I think it is easy for us to forget how important education is, whether it’s something we teach in a lecture or something we share with others in a 2 minute conversation.