The Environmental Factor – February 2020: Invite a Scientist – Takes NIEHS to Classroom

Each year, dozens of groups such as classes and clubs welcome NIEHS representatives to discuss science, biomedical research and careers in science, courtesy of the NIEHS Speakers Bureau. Recently, on January 9, Speakers Bureau Coordinator John Shelp spoke to a local group at the University Club in Durham, North Carolina. Postdoctoral fellow Sania Rattan, Ph.D., gave a professional lecture on December 19 at Durham Hillside High School.

“In 2019 alone, we visited more than 30 events, with about 1,800 participants across the Triangle and beyond,” Shelp said, describing the impact of the program in the Research Triangle Park area of ​​North Carolina, where NIEHS is located. The NIEHS Office of Science Education and Director of Diversity, Erica Reed, Ph.D., launched the Office of Speakers in 2012.

Choose your topic

Shelp said of the Speakers Bureau volunteers, “Colleagues enjoy it because it reminds them of the importance of their work and recharges their batteries.” (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

When applying, educators and event coordinators choose such talks as “What do you like about science”, “Safety of nanomaterials”, and internship opportunities at NIEHS. Shelp noted that asthma, environmental justice, and elementary school science are hot topics.

Deondra Rose, Ph.D., at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy, invites Schelp to visit her each year to speak about environmental justice. “They fondly remember the guest lecture I had as one of the highlights of the class,” she wrote in an email.

kids and dogs

Elementary schools are a favorite place for volunteer Michelle Campbell, a biologist at the NIEHS Laboratory of Immunology, Infections and Diseases. She visited fourth graders at nearby Bethesda Christian Academy last September.

“I looked at [North Carolina] Core curriculum,” Campbell said, to guide her search for relevant lesson plans. She chose a hands-on activity in which students decode a dog’s DNA.

“The DNA sequence provides the genetic makeup, and then they paint the dog and play the role of the environment,” she explained. “In other words, all the dogs looked different, even though the students worked with the same set of genes.”

Teacher Jenna Hernden said her students participated fully in the lesson. “They learned a lot,” she wrote.

Campbell’s own lab studies how the environment affects gene activity. “Teaching genetics is so much fun,” she said. Campbell was unable to accept many applications last year due to high priority work in her lab, but she is looking forward to speaking opportunities in 2020.

At one school, Campbell shared a genetics lesson with six fifth graders. “The teacher gave me clues at the level of each group,” she said. (Photo courtesy of Michael Campbell)

Long distance options

NIEHS volunteers can visit remote classrooms via the web. That’s how Vicki Sutherland, Ph.D., from the National Toxicology Program (NTP), met environmental toxicology students at Hampton University in Virginia. “The students were fantastic,” Sutherland said of the October 3 session. “They asked great questions.”

Like Campbell, Sutherland researches her topic beforehand, refining the topic with the teacher. “I gain a good idea of ​​what they want and can make choices,” she explained.

Other Sutherland students ranged from middle school to seniors. She taught “This Is Your Brain (and Your Gut) on Chemicals,” for a lifelong learning class, where students expanded the discussion to include the microbiome, neurocognitive issues, and more.

Girl Scouts are another group that uses a speaker’s desk. Here, Kristi Drew, PhD, chair of the NIEHS Program Analysis Branch, shared a presentation on lung capacity in 2017. (Image via Kristi Drew)

professional interests

Sheba Churchill, DVM, a contract veterinarian in the NTP Cellular and Molecular Pathology branch, averages two visits per year to the speakers’ office.

On November 11 a quick interview occurred at North Carolina State University, Churchill discussed both her job and NIEHS opportunities for undergraduates. “I usually talk about my role here and taking care of the animal,” she explained.

“Young children are the funniest,” she added. They love anything animal related and they talk about their pets, asking “Why can’t a dog do this?” Or share “This is what happened to my cat.”

Schelp said the NIEHS is able to meet almost all requests. “The speakers have already been arranged for future visits in February and March,” he said.

from San Jose News Bulletin https://sjnewsbulletin.com/the-environmental-factor-february-2020-invite-a-scientist-takes-niehs-to-classroom/