 Dr. Heather Congdon in Pharmacy Lab at USG with students from Ridgeview Middle School. |
Twenty local universities, healthcare organizations, private companies, and research centers teamed up to present the third annual Frontiers in Science and Medicine Day to 600 Montgomery County Public School middle school students on October 28th.
Seventh graders from Lakelands Park Middle School and Ridgeview Middle School in Gaithersburg, Md. toured local laboratories in the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center, including the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR), and participated in hands-on science activities at the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus.
Exploring the Possibilities
Activities included learning about personalized medicine from a Johns Hopkins University biotechnology professor, playing a video game used by Shady Grove Adventist Hospital surgeons for training and finding out why grape Kool-Aid is purple from the National Institutes of Health Chemical Genomics Center (NCGC).
At USG, students toured the pharmacy practice lab, led by Heather Congdon, PharmD, Assistant Dean for Shady Grove, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Students from the University of Maryland, College Park’s (UMCP) Biological Sciences program at USG participated by leading middle students through the identification of cell types using microscopes at the Johns Hopkins Montgomery County Campus.
 Lakelands Park Middle School students use microscopes to indentify cell types with UMCP Biological Sciences students from USG. |
“Frontiers in Science and Medicine Day helps introduce students to the possibilities of careers in science and medicine,” said Dr. Christopher Austin, director of NCGC. “Educating students about the limitless potential of science, technology, engineering, and math provides a solid foundation for a lifetime of exploration and learning.”
“We are reaching students at the perfect age in middle school to spark interest in biosciences,” said Dennis Hansen, President of Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. “The hands-on, real-world experience we offer through Frontiers in Science and Medicine Day encourages passion in young students to commit to careers in science and medicine.”
Preparing our Community's Future Workforce
Johns Hopkins Montgomery County, NCGC, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, and USG spearheaded Frontiers in Science and Medicine Day with the support of 20 local businesses and organizations. In addition, this year, the Frontiers program included a classroom visit by scientists from a number of local organizations during which students learned the lab skills they would need on October 28.
“We expect an educational and fun-filled day in the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center that will capture the interest of students and help energize our community’s next generation of science and health professionals,” said Dr. Stewart Edelstein, Executive Director, Universities at Shady Grove before the event.
Participating companies this year included 20/20 BioResponse, BioReliance, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, Human Genome Sciences, University of Maryland Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research, J Craig Venter Institute, Johns Hopkins Center for Biotechnology Education, Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals, Johns Hopkins Montgomery County Campus, Lonza, MdBioFoundation, MedImmune, Montgomery College, NIH Chemical Genomics Center, QIAGEN, Sanaria, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, TissueGene, Universities at Shady Grove, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and Vaxin.