Tag Archives: outreach

Pathway to PhD> Netflix binge: Luana Melo (UMB) reflects on her winter break

Guest Post by Luana Melo, UMass Boston

Starting off P2P week 2 with Molly Hodul (Neuro)! Courtesy – Aimee Shen

When I thought about how I wanted to spend my three-week winter break, I envisioned twelve-hour Netflix binges and waking up at 11 am every day. What I didn’t expect was to be working in a lab, and attending workshops Monday through Friday, from nine to five pm. That is what my break was like, however, and I don’t regret a second of it (except the ones I spent stuck on the red line after snowstorms). I was privileged enough to have been accepted into the Tufts Winter Enrichment Program: The Pathway to PhD, an experience I will never forget. Those three weeks taught me more than I had could have imagined, and I walked out a better person and scientist.

Over the span of three weeks, I got to participate in seven different research projects, attend workshops, seminars, and interact with graduate students. The seminars were twice a week and were an opportunity for self-reflection and personal statement development. My lab-mates and I used to refer to it as group therapy jokingly. The workshops ranged from a variety of topics, but their general premise was to prepare us for graduate school and develop our professionalism. They were all incredibly helpful, and answered a lot of the questions we all had and made us all feel more prepared to apply not just to graduate school but research programs as well.

Picking worms with Lidia Park (CMDB). Courtesy – Aimee Shen

Despite how helpful the seminars and workshops were, I have to say the best part about the program was the actual research experiments. The research we did was exciting; some focused-on microbiology, some on immunology, and some on neuroscience. My favorite project was the one focused on microbiology. The research was based on the vieSAB operon in Vibrio cholerae, which aimed to determine motility and biofilm-production phenotypes of different VieA mutants in the presence of various nutrients. It was interesting to isolate and test different variables and see what parts of the operon pathway got disrupted. We as a group decided that there needed to be modifications to the experimental design to reproduce the experiment with fructose or sucrose instead of glucose.

“How do antibodies work?” with Reem Abbaker (UMB), Michael Hyde (CMDB) & Nafis Hasan (CMDB). Courtesy – Aimee Shen

That ability to reflect and adapt the experimental design, to think critically about future improvements, and what factors are to be excluded are just some of the valuable skills I learned in the program. I learned about the scientific process and saw examples of it being used, for example, to consider unaccounted factors that could be influencing the results, to determine the relative efficiency of a buffer used, or to think about how the pH might be too high/low, etc. If the scientific process was a book and I an editor, I’d say the point is to look for the plot holes.

Another aspect of the program I enjoyed was working with the graduate students. They were enthusiastic about working with us and teaching us. It was awesome getting to interact with them; they were eager to show us anything we were curious about and to answer any of our questions relevant to graduate school or not. One of my favorite interactions was when a graduate student was telling my lab-mates and I all the frustrating and discouraging things about being a graduate student. She followed it with the gloomiest monotone “but I’m living my dream.” On the elevator ride home, we all laughed about it.

Author with her cohort – Cassie Berluti (UMB), Kayla Gross (CMDB), Luana Melo (author), Reem Abbaker (UMB) & Brian Hall (UMB) (left to right). Courtesy – Aimee Shen

This program was a valuable experience that I think undergraduate students could benefit from immensely. I can’t think of a better way to spend winter break than amongst imaged neurons, and secondary antibodies.

 

Greentown Labs is at the Forefront Boston’s Cleantech Industry

In the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, I feel compelled to understand what cleantech strategies are currently available to tackle climate change. California’s cleantech industry was an obvious thought that came to mind. Over the past decade, California’s institutions and companies have been leaders in the U.S. market for producing clean energy and biodegradable materials. This past summer, the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in the Bay Area received federal funding for innovation in biofuels and bioproducts. Since its inception, JBEI has yielded several startups that are committed to engineering microbes and crops to convert sugars into high-value renewable fuels. But where does Massachusetts stand in the cleantech industry? Fortunately, we’re not too far behind.

The nation’s largest cleantech startup incubator actually exists right here in Massachusetts. The Somerville incubator Greentown Labs hosts more than 100 startup companies and has raised over $200 million in investor funding since its founding. There is an emphasis on solar, wind, and wastewater technology in this incubator that is very unique. For example, the startup WrightGrid has developed a single solar-panel-based charger for robust cell phone charging in rural areas. Furthermore, SolChroma has developed full-color reflective digital billboards that reduce light pollution and energy costs in big cities. The company Sistine Solar can come to your home and design personalized solar panels in all aesthetic shapes and colors, enticing homeowners to switch to solar energy. One company that piqued my interest was Spyce, a startup intersecting food and technology. The company has developed a robotic kitchen that can serve meals with fresh ingredients in less than five minutes. The robotic kitchen is compact and reduces the amount of space and manpower that is typically needed at restaurants to prepare meals.

For the global market, Greentown Labs hosts Promethean Power Systems, a company that manufacturers rural refrigeration systems in off-grid and partially electrified areas of developing countries. In the same vein, Ivys Energy Solutions provides renewable hydrogen fuel cells to the international market. For the agrigulture sector, Raptor Maps fuses drone-based imaging technology to detect pest and weed infestation so to reduce water usage and nutrient management. Multisensor Scientific has also developed imaging capabilities to visualize and quantify in real-time methane leaks from natural gas infrastructures, thus reducing harmful methane emissions that are driving climate change. In the materials sector, Alkemy Environmental recycles industrial waste into lightweight concrete. For water management, Aquafresco is reinventing how we do laundry through a wastewater recycling invention that reduces the amount of water we use by 95%

Just a week ago, Tufts University collaborated with Greentown Labs to support cleantech solutions. The agreement between the parties will allow them to share their expertise, resources, and networks. The collaboration is also exciting because it allows for startups run by Tufts affiliates to directly become members of Greentown Labs. Currently Greentown Labs is tight on space but they are opening up a new building in Somerville next month to host more startups. The expansion of Greentown Labs is very promising for the future of cleantech in the Boston area. Just like Kendall is synonymous with biotech, in the next few years Somerville will be synonymous with yuppies, hipsters, and, perhaps, cleantech.

References:

http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2017/06/19/synthetic-genomics-breakthrough-algae-produces-twice-as-much-oil/#

 

https://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/tufts-university-collaborates-somervilles-greentown-labs-support-inventive-clean

 

https://www.wheretraveler.com/boston/eat/boston-food-tech-future-just-got-delicious

 

https://www.greentownlabs.com/about/

 

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2017/07/17/doe-renews-jbei-funding/

Now what? Science Activism Beyond the March

The effects of the March and the outpouring of support for scientific research and evidence-based policymaking are already showing, as exemplified by the increase in NIH funding approved by the Congress instead of the Trump administration’s proposed cuts. However, this should not make us complacent in our demands. The EPA’s scientific advisory board is being replaced by representatives of agencies it is meant to regulate, climate change action is still being hindered and the environment is increasingly threatened, and the anti-vaxxers just succeeded in invoking an outbreak of measles in Minnesota. As Dr. Harris Berman, along with the deans of other medical schools in Boston, recently wroteWe must harness this energy and ensure that the March for Science on Saturday marks the beginning of closing the rift that got us here in the first place”, we should also ensure that this march becomes the global movement it is meant to be. The enthusiasm & sense of urgency that brought out the scientists out on the streets on April 22 should be harnessed to battle the anti-science hysteria currently spreading across the nation. The only way to do it would be to not isolate, but engage the public, to whom we have a responsibility for putting their faith in us, in meaningful ways to improve science literacy through relevant communication. Here we present some additional resources for you to get engaged in science activism after the March:

  • Communicate Your Science – Increasing visibility of scientists and science among the general public would help to shore popular support for scientific research. The #ActualLivingScientist campaign on social media helped dispel the alienation between the scientific community and the people who support their work. Share the importance of your work by writing or speaking about it online or offline. For example, check out The People’s Science’s new initiative, The Field Project, where researchers are encouraged to write a brief summary of their work for the “broadest possible audience”. Talk about your work and how you got into scientific research through our “Humans of Sackler”. Or even better, write for us if you want to practice your writing and communicating skills. Visibility Matters!
  • Volunteer in Science Outreach – The greater Boston area provides ample opportunities for science outreach programs, especially with large-scale events like Cambridge Science Festival. On a smaller scale, you can volunteer for the BIOBUGS, the Brain Bee, the annual mentoring opportunity at Josiah Quincy Upper School and more. Keep an eye out for emails re: these events & more from the Sackler Graduate Student Council.
  • Engage in Policy Action – Since the election, scientists have started to take on political action themselves. One such group is 314 action, who seeks to elect “more leaders to the U.S. Senate, House, State Executive & Legislative offices who come from STEM backgrounds”. The Union of Concerned Scientists, who have been fighting for evidence-based policy to solve social & environmental problems since 1969, hosts an advocacy resource where you can learn how to take action with or without getting involved with the organization. If you would like to write about policy, this writing program by Rescuing Biomedical Research can be your first foray into that world. You can also get involved with the new student organization at Sackler, Scientists Promoting INclusive Excellence #@ Sackler (SPINES), which seeks to increase visibility of minority scientists among other goals.
  • Educate Yourself – If you are not sure on how best to participate in science activism, you can start by learning. Follow the official March for Science blog to learn how the movement is advancing. Check out this online class being offered by faculty from University of Michigan on how to “more effectively discuss knowledge”. Get involved with the Emerson Science Communication Collaborative between Emerson media students and Sackler students. For an even extensive gamut of resources, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has an online toolkit for you to start getting involved!

If you know of any other organizations or groups involved in science literacy, education, outreach & communication, please leave us a comment below!

Notes from the North: Review of Online Course “Scientists Teaching Science”

Scientific graduate programs all over the country do a wonderful job training their students to become critical thinkers able to design experiments, write fellowship grants, write peer reviewed papers, and grasp complex scientific systems. Nearly all programs, however, struggle to provide career training. Traditionally, skills such as mentoring, teaching, and leadership have been learned by observing others. This has generated many excellent scientists, mentors, teachers, and leaders, but how many more could we have developed had students received directed training? And how much better would our current scientific leaders be had they not had to reinvent the wheel for themselves?

One of the dangers of requiring students to learn through osmosis is that we tend to recapitulate what we see, even if it is not the most effective method. Partly this is because many of us do find this an effective way of gaining skills and knowledge, but there is also a mentality of initiation: we had to struggle, the next generation should experience this too. There are many answers to this paucity of career development training, however, in the form of business clubs, student and postdoc association lead career workshops, and online extracurricular courses.

Some of us at Sackler interested in a teaching career have taken advantage of a short course entitled “Scientists Teaching Science” which teaches best practices in science education, based on the latest research on teaching and STEM ed sol logolearning by STEM Education Solutions (http://stem-k20.com/). This is a completely online course that runs about nine weeks with a different module every week. Depending on the week, the time commitment is about 3 hours per week for light weeks and as much as 8 hours per week on heavy weeks (depending on how assiduous a note taker you are when doing readings and how detailed you are in written assignments).

I found the intro to the course very illustrative and memorable. We were asked to read several articles on how science has traditionally been taught and how active learning has repeatedly been shown to improve learning outcomes, then Barbara Houtz started her own narrated lecture in the traditional “Sage on the Stage” style. My heart immediately sank as I envisioned the next nine weeks writing dense, jargon filled notes on topics that seemed esoteric and non-practical. This was not what I thought I was signing up for! Then she paused and asked the question, “what are you thinking?”

That’s when the real lecture began. The narrated lectures were fantastic! Available 24/7 and provided as both narration and transcript. Methods that make participants stop to think about what they are being told were used liberally to retain participant attention. This meant that we were being shown how to effectively employ all the skills we were being taught as they were being taught to us. The modules covered learning/teaching styles, generating effective assessments, Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning, writing your teaching philosophy (a part of faculty application materials that I only learned about last year despite years of aspiration to teach), cultural awareness, active learning and inquiry based teaching, writing course objectives, teaching online, course development, and syllabus compilation. Each module was comprised of a narrated lecture, readings, and a written assignment or discussion board post requirement. Additional resources were also provided on the Virtual Learning Environment and Barbara Houtz frequently sent out class announcements about recent articles on STEM education and careers for PhDs.STEM

I embarked on this online only course with a great deal of trepidation. Would I have the self-discipline to keep up with the material? Would I feel comfortable reaching out to the instructor with questions and comments? The answer is that with the help of an instructor devoted to keeping her participants involved and getting the most out of her course I was able to gain practical teaching skills in a remarkably short time.

BIOBUGS – Call for volunteers

Are you interested in getting some teaching and outreach experience? If so, consider volunteering to participate in the fall semester’s BIOBUGS (Biology Inquiry and Outreach with Boston University Graduate Students) program. BIOBUGS is a week-long program where we invite Boston area high school biology classes to come to Boston University and participate in a newly redesigned 3 hour lab, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy!

In this lab students will study the internal anatomy of six classes of vertebrates (cartilaginous and bony fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal) through hands-on examination of dissected whole specimens as well as prepared skeletons and skins. They will then be asked to formulate hypotheses about the ecology of each dissected species based on their observations of the similarities and differences between each specimen.
We are looking for Sackler graduate students who want to either teach or volunteer for one or more days of the program. No prior experience in vertebrate anatomy is required – instruction will be provided! The labs will be run December 10-11 and December 14-16, 2015 from 9am-12pm, and are followed by a free pizza lunch from 12pm-1pm for all teachers and volunteers. Please contact Melissa LaBonty (melissa.labonty@tufts.edu) or Joslyn Mills (Joslyn.mills@tufts.edu) to sign up or get more information.

 

biobugs
Credit – Frankie Velazquez, Immunology