UH Med Now

Twenty-four Hawai’i schoolteachers will prepare to go “back to school” this week by learning the latest in scientific research methods at the University of Hawai’i medical school. This is the sixth time that the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) has hosted the teachers by using a grant from the National Institutes of Health that supports early career scientists. Those scientists are leading the teachers this week, and they serve as inspiring role models for high school students all year long. The 24-teacher group is the largest so far, and includes teachers from Moloka’i, Maui, Hawai’i Island and O’ahu.

“What I have enjoyed the most is seeing this program expand from a single program offered by one Center to a JABSOM-wide collective effort to introduce teachers to exciting science and allow them to get hands-on experience in our cutting-edge laboratories,” said Dr. Rachel Boulay, originator of the program.

Teachers from all Hawai’i schools, both public and private, were invited. These dedicated teachers will put in a full week of work, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. through Friday. Today, they got their hands on the equipment inside the Center for Cardiovascular Research on the JABSOM Kaka’ako Campus. During that session, they were practicing lab skills including DNA Extraction and Analysis and Genotyping. They also will be attending lectures on science topics including Tropical Medicine, which at JABSOM includes efforts to develop an Ebola vaccine and understand the sexual transmission of Zika, among other relevant topics. Teachers will also hear the latest on Hawai’i’s science and healthcare workforce shortages, tour the JABSOM Native Hawaiian Healing Garden, Patient Simulation Laboratory, Vivarium and meet several leading JABSOM scientists.

The JABSOM Molecular Biology Teacher Training Program for 2017 was funded by a Science Education Partnership Award of the National Institutes of Health, (R25OD020246).

Photos of the teachers in the lab by Amanda Shell, UH Med Now: