Stem Cell Summer Academy: Creating the Next Generation of Scientists

With the generous support of California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Creativity Award, The Scripps Research Institute is better equipped to provide diverse high school students with the opportunity to become aware of the potential stem cells offer regenerative medicine and the ethical sensitivities they create. The eight-week Stem-Cell Academy which was folded into the High School Student Research Education Program can be divided into two over-arching, intertwined components: curriculum and research experiences. Each is made up of several activities that work together and provide a step-wise, scaffolding approach to improving interns’ critical thinking skills, scientific knowledge, communication skills, and research expertise. The interns’ experience commenced in May, when they meet on five consecutive Wednesday afternoons (Spring Tutorials) in Scripps Research’s Community Teaching Laboratory. Topics including DNA and forensics, biomolecular visualization, stem cell technology, combinatorial chemistry, and drug discovery were selected to ensure that students are exposed to cutting-edge technologies. Then the interns attend a one-week training course (Boot Camp) which started with an assessment of the students’ skill set. Students then learned the following laboratory techniques and soft skills: safety, pipetting, teamwork, gel electrophoresis, how to make solutions and dilutions, and how to keep a good lab notebook. CIRM Scholars also participated in a hands-on stem cell laboratory training course. The course began by introducing key concepts and properties of adult and embryonic stem cells; the later courses were devoted to the ethical and regulatory issues with applying stem cells in various therapies. After the interns demonstrated a proficient level of achievement in the assessment activities of the training courses, the interns interviewed with several mentors and selected a research laboratory. Immediately after boot camp, interns began conducting research in the laboratory with a mentor for seven-weeks (eight hours per day, five days per week). Together the intern and mentor crafted a research project that took the intern through the scientific process; this included research planning, bench experience, experimental design generation, data analysis and interaction with laboratory personnel. The intern worked on the project under the supervision of a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow or another member of the mentor’s lab until the intern is comfortable with the project and the laboratory setting. The intern then works independently for the remainder of the program. Interns attended weekly seminars and professional development workshops where the critical elements of the scientific method modeled in the laboratory were reinforced. Interns read current scientific articles and led discussions about the rationale behind the experiments. They also critically analyzed the work, articulated research concepts, and engaged in scientific discourse with their peers. The culminating exercise was the oral presentation of the students’ work at the Summer Intern Symposium which was open to the entire Scripps community. The presentations were approximately ten-minutes long with a three-minute question-and-answer period. The presentations are expected to include background information, significance, hypothesis/specific aims, methods and materials, data with figures and/or tables (if any), data analysis (if any), and future directions (what didn't you complete). The interns’ presentations were judged by faculty based on the following criteria: preparedness, clarity of presentation, content, and posture and eye contact. Another important part of the CIRM Academy is training the next generation of scientists to also be good educators and communicators. Whether the interns formally teach in the future, scientists need to make science interesting to others. Toward this end, CIRM scholars made videos describing their research projects. They were encouraged to be ‘creative’ and incorporate rap, popular song parodies, music, costumes, or Shakespeare-inspired poems to make the science entertaining as well as educational. The videos included a brief introduction, expected duration and cost of the experiment, safety concerns, materials, equipment, and methods and protocol.

With the generous support of California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Creativity Award, The Scripps Research Institute is better equipped to provide diverse high school students with the opportunity to become aware of the potential stem cells offer regenerative medicine and the ethical sensitivities they create. The eight-week Stem-Cell Academy which was folded into the High School Student Research Education Program can be divided into two over-arching, intertwined components: curriculum and research experiences. Each is made up of several activities that work together and provide a step-wise, scaffolding approach to improving interns’ critical thinking skills, scientific knowledge, communication skills, and research expertise. The interns’ experience commenced in May, when they meet on five consecutive Wednesday afternoons (Spring Tutorials) in Scripps Research’s Community Teaching Laboratory. Topics including DNA and forensics, biomolecular visualization, stem cell technology, combinatorial chemistry, and drug discovery were selected to ensure that students are exposed to cutting-edge technologies. Then the interns attend a one-week training course (Boot Camp) which started with an assessment of the students’ skill set. Students then learned the following laboratory techniques and soft skills: safety, pipetting, teamwork, gel electrophoresis, how to make solutions and dilutions, and how to keep a good lab notebook. CIRM Scholars also participated in a hands-on stem cell laboratory training course. The course began by introducing key concepts and properties of adult and embryonic stem cells; the later courses were devoted to the ethical and regulatory issues with applying stem cells in various therapies. After the interns demonstrated a proficient level of achievement in the assessment activities of the training courses, the interns interviewed with several mentors and selected a research laboratory. Immediately after boot camp, interns began conducting research in the laboratory with a mentor for seven-weeks (eight hours per day, five days per week). Together the intern and mentor crafted a research project that took the intern through the scientific process; this included research planning, bench experience, experimental design generation, data analysis and interaction with laboratory personnel. The intern worked on the project under the supervision of a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow or another member of the mentor’s lab until the intern is comfortable with the project and the laboratory setting. The intern then works independently for the remainder of the program. Interns attended weekly seminars and professional development workshops where the critical elements of the scientific method modeled in the laboratory were reinforced. Interns read current scientific articles and led discussions about the rationale behind the experiments. They also critically analyzed the work, articulated research concepts, and engaged in scientific discourse with their peers. The culminating exercise was the oral presentation of the students’ work at the Summer Intern Symposium which was open to the entire Scripps community. The presentations were approximately ten-minutes long with a three-minute question-and-answer period. The presentations are expected to include background information, significance, hypothesis/specific aims, methods and materials, data with figures and/or tables (if any), data analysis (if any), and future directions (what didn't you complete). The interns’ presentations were judged by faculty based on the following criteria: preparedness, clarity of presentation, content, and posture and eye contact. Another important part of the CIRM Academy is training the next generation of scientists to also be good educators and communicators. Whether the interns formally teach in the future, scientists need to make science interesting to others. Toward this end, CIRM scholars made videos describing their research projects. They were encouraged to be ‘creative’ and incorporate rap, popular song parodies, music, costumes, Shakespeare-inspired poems, or art projects to make the science entertaining as well as educational. The videos included a brief introduction, expected duration and cost of the experiment, safety concerns, materials, equipment, and methods and protocol.

To compete in today’s global, high-tech economy, the United States is becoming more dependent on workers and leaders prepared in STEM fields; however, national studies indicate that too few American students have the requisite knowledge and skills in science and mathematics to participate fully in today’s economy. The United States trails sixteen countries in Europe and Asia in the proportion of each country’s college population who earn degrees in science and engineering. This situation is only complicated by the shortage of qualified science and mathematics K-12 teachers. The need to address this issue has never been more acute. Since 1989 we have partnered with the local school districts and the county office of education to provide students and teachers with opportunities to engage in cutting-edge research. We firmly believe that the success and prosperity of our community and its citizens relies on these long-term commitments. We are in a unique position to develop programs that help increase student achievement by leveraging existing relationships and our deep connection to the community to create an innovative and scalable model for this national problem. One of our programs, the High School Student Research Education Program, exposes students to contemporary issues in biomedical research and provides hands-on research experience. This eight-week program can be divided into two over-arching, intertwined components: curriculum and research experiences. Each is made up of several activities that work together and provide a step-wise, scaffolding approach to improving interns’ critical thinking skills, scientific knowledge, communication skills, and research expertise. The interns’ experience commences in May, when they meet on five consecutive Wednesday afternoons (Spring Tutorials) in Scripps’ Community Teaching Laboratory. Then the interns attend a one-week training course (Boot Camp), which is held in conjunction with other summer internship programs on the Torrey Pines. Immediately after boot camp, interns conduct research in the laboratory with a mentor for seven-weeks (eight hours per day, five days per week). Together the intern and mentor craft a research project that takes the intern through the scientific process; this includes research planning, bench experience, experimental design generation, data analysis and interaction with laboratory personnel. The intern works on the project under the supervision of a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow or another member of the mentor’s lab until the intern is comfortable with the project and the laboratory setting. The intern then works independently for the remainder of the program. Several of the students in this program, work in laboratories with stem cell or developmental biology research programs. These programs include identifying molecules that control their self-renewal, defining and characterizing cells and pathways that confer pluripotency, treating lysosomal storage disorders, pioneering the reprogramming of neurons to pluripotency, treating cardiovascular disease, understanding and treating cancer, studying the self-renewal and migration of neural stem cells and studying glycomics. This program raises awareness of stem cell research in treating disease and improving human health.

The Scripps Research Institute is one of the institutions that received funding from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to foster creativity and scientific innovation in high school students and fund basic stem cell discoveries. The grant enabled Scripps Research to expand its high school summer internship program on the La Jolla, California campus to include 10 participants with a specific interest in stem cell research. “We were delighted that CIRM has chosen to fund our program,” said James R. Williamson, dean of graduate and postgraduate studies. “We hope the summer internships inspired some talented students from diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in stem cell research and others to participate in our community with the benefit of first-hand experience with science.” The summer internship program for high school students rolled out in three phases. First, the students attended a series of enrichment tutorials in the spring. Organized by Scripps Research Doctoral Program in Chemical and Biological Sciences doctoral students, the tutorials covered various aspects of modern molecular biology and chemistry—from chemistry to cell biology. Next, the interns participated in a one-week training session at the Southern California Biotechnology Center at Miramar College, made possible by a partnership with the Life Science Summer Institute and sponsored by the San Diego Workforce Partnership and Biocom. In the course, which could count as two college credits, students learned basic lab procedures and various soft skills, including documentation, notebook entry, and lab safety. Once in the lab, each student assisted in a specific research project under the supervision of a mentor. The interns were included as much as possible in productive lab activities and the normal life of the lab, with all its joys and frustrations. In addition to time spent at the laboratory bench, the interns participated in weekly get-togethers featuring lunch and lectures from Scripps Research faculty and scientific staff, as well as field trips to local biotech companies and other points of interest. At the end of the summer, students presented their research to peers, mentors, parents, and supporters. For more information about Scripps Research’s Academic Preparation and Educational Outreach Programs see http://education.scripps.edu/community/california/hsintern/index.html. The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. Over the past decades, Scripps Research has developed a lengthy track record of major contributions to science and health, including laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. The institute employs about 3,000 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists—including three Nobel laureates—work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards Ph.D. degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. For more information, see www.scripps.edu