Stephanie Gagnon of the Wadsworth Center's Newborn Screening Program assists a student in a pipetting activity. Photo credit: Rise High. Used with permission.
For the second consecutive year, scientists from the Wadsworth Center are participating in a community outreach partnership with Rise High, a Schenectady-based science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program serving students in grades 6-12. The initiative is designed to introduce students to public health science and to encourage interest in STEM and public health careers.
A three-day didactic and hands-on course, developed by John Kelly, Christopher Brandon, Lisa Biega, and Erin Hughes, provides students with an introduction to the mission of public health, the role of public health laboratories, and the wide range of careers available within public health systems. Course content includes lectures on genetics and DNA, as well as a hands-on molecular biology module using an assay employed by the Newborn Screening Program to screen infants for cystic fibrosis.
In addition to the core instructional team, twelve additional Wadsworth Center staff members volunteered as instructors, each participating in one of the Saturday sessions to facilitate laboratory activities and discuss their professional pathways within public health. Volunteers consistently report that engaging with students through the Rise High program is rewarding and many returned enthusiastically for a second year.
The first module was held on January 24, with subsequent sessions scheduled for January 31 and February 7.
Organizers: John Kelly (Parasitology); Christopher Brandon (Newborn Screening); Lisa Biega (Division of Laboratory Operations); Erin Hughes (Newborn Screening)
Instructors: Lynn Leach (Bacteriology); Brooke Clemons (Parasitology); Catherine Balnis (Newborn Screening); Stephanie Gagnon (Newborn Screening); CJ Robinson (Advanced Genomic Technologies Cluster); Arthur Totten (Virology); Elli Laitinen (Newborn Screening); Victoria Schnurr (Arbovirology); Kimberly Mergen (Parasitology); Rachel Bievenue (Bloodborne Viruses); Sara Griesemer (Virology); Jennifer Laplante (Virology)