Spotlight: Outreach Programs

Science Runs Across the Border

ENLACE is a bi-national summer research program between Mexico and UC San Diego and encourages students to use science as a tool to build human bridges across the border and further the development of knowledge on both sides.

A team led by two graduate students, Sachin Govil and Abby Teitgen in Professor McCulloch’s lab has two high school students, Daniela Abril and Santiago Makoszay, two college students, Kimberly Rodelo and Juan Francisco Navarro, and one researcher, German Ruiz. All of the individuals on the team are from different states in Mexico including Baja California, the State of Mexico, and Sonora. The team is using data science techniques to identify demographic and clinical attributes related to heart disease, with the goal of understanding which sub-populations are at increased risk and which clinical measures are the best for diagnosis and prognosis.

One meaningful part of this experience for the Bioengineering graduate students has been seeing the development of the students as young scientists, from truly getting a grasp of asking meaningful questions, generating hypotheses after doing initial research, and designing experiments to test those hypotheses. They were also inspired by how well the students have worked together as a team and learned from each other. They each bring a unique perspective and set of skills to the table, which has made this a very enriching experience for everyone. At the conclusion of the program, the students present their summer research progress at a special day-long ENLACE symposium in August.

Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in Biomaterials

Each summer, the Jacobs School of Engineering (JSOE) at UC San Diego hosts a 7+ week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in Biomaterials. The program is led and directed by Professor Adam Engler, and students are trained in basic research through challenging biomaterial-related engineering projects in areas including tissue engineering and 3D printing, bio-inspired biomaterials, biomaterial-stem cell interaction, nanoparticles, and drug delivery.

This year from June through August, the REU program returned as an in-person experience, bringing students from all across the country together. Isabelle Williams, a recent participant from Rice University, learned about the program through “the PI for the lab I research in at Rice [who] sent out a newsletter containing the information for the program and encouraged all of the Undergraduate students in the lab to apply” and “loved the idea of continuing [biomaterials research] in the summer.” The program brought together students like Williams who shared similar passions for materials sciences and engineering, and would provide research opportunities for students under the mentorship of various UCSD Bioengineering faculty.

The REU program has been incredibly successful. When asked about how the program would align with her own academic interests and goals, Williams was optimistic about the outcomes. “I am looking forward to developing the research management skills that I need to succeed in graduate school, and also hope to garner a new perspective from which I can approach future research,” she expressed. “Lastly, I hope to explore San Diego and make lifelong connections with people who share similar interests.”

Link: https://be.ucsd.edu/reu

Professor Adam Engler with REU Program Students

Inspiring a New Generation of Critical Thinkers and Problem Solvers

Appealing to kids’ natural curiosity through hands-on experiences and experimentation.

The Elementary School Science Partnership at UC San Diego was able to continue through Covid-19 with the support of grants from Jeff Hasty's Biodynamics Lab and a group of enthusiastic, talented UC San Diego students.

For the 2020-21 academic year, the program consisted of 24 graduate student volunteers providing weekly hands-on science and engineering lessons to three grade levels in 5 different classrooms at Lafayette Elementary School. This program reaches over 110 3rd to 5th grade students, including deaf and hard-of-hearing students. During lessons the volunteers run science demonstrations and interact with students and parents from throughout San Diego. The goal of this program is to model and pass on science activities to the teachers to augment their science lessons and to get the students excited about science and engineering.

This year our graduate volunteers tackled new challenges with COVID-19 and the San Diego County Schools having remote classes instead of in-person learning. UCSD graduate students ran their science lessons on Zoom which allowed them to continue to interact with their students and teachers. Because of the addition of ASL interpreters, lessons needed to be more visual and less verbal. To meet this challenge, the grad students implemented hands-on experiences the students could follow along with at home, and they incorporated visuals, student polls, activities, and simulations from science websites to help make the lessons interactive and motivating. During past school years, students have been able to use materials and equipment they normally might not get to use due to school budget restraints. This year volunteers made individually prepared bags of student supplies and delivered them to Lafayette Elementary for the students to pick up before lessons.

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