Fall 2007
NIAID Discovery News
NIAID, Community Embrace Student Program
In a Montana middle school classroom in 1998, scientists touched the minds of students by placing their hands on the tools of their trade. From analyzing DNA sequences and blood cells to handling pipettes and mock pacemakers, the students were exposed to fascinating, practical laboratory work by real scientists.
The organizers of that visit, staff members from Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana, immediately knew they had fulfilled a primary objective—expand the scientific interests of children beyond an attraction to bugs and chemistry sets toward more sophisticated experiments, such as those conducted in high school and college.
“We could see the interest in their faces right away,” says Beth Fischer, who manages the electron microscope section at RML. “Those expressions, and the willingness of middle school students to stay after school to learn about science, told us we had something special. And they kept coming back and remembering what they had learned.”
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| Paul Brett, RML research fellow, helps a Lone Rock Middle School student identify Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in a petri dish. This 2005 BRASS session showed students how to isolate bacteria from throat and nasal swabs and then describe the differences between S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and Group A Streptococcal bacteria taken from those swabs. (Credit: RML/NIAID) |
RML organizers simply hoped to raise the awareness of and interest in science. But they also knew that encouragement could open opportunities for the students to pursue scientific careers and embrace the public health missions of entities like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the parent agency of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of which RML is a part.
One day each week for five weeks the students returned after their regular classes for two additional hours of learning. By design, classes were a mixture of overachieving gifted-and-talented students and C- and D-students struggling to find their way in school.
“Some students do not learn well in the traditional classroom setting, and I think the hands-on approach brought out the potential in some of these students who might otherwise be overlooked,” Fischer recalls.
Each weekly session involved hands-on lab experience focused on cutting-edge science—genetics, infectious diseases, neurology, immunology, animals in research, analytical chemistry … the list goes on.
And so does the BRASS program, which just began its 10th year at Ravalli County schools in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. Since that 1998 beginning, BRASS has graduated about 550 students, some of whom already are making their mark in science at universities such as Stanford, Northwestern, and Princeton.
BRASS, which stands for Biomedical Research After School Scholars, has become a focal point of community outreach at RML.
“I remember thinking how great it was to have this program in my school where we could work alongside scientists, and to have this amazing research laboratory in my hometown,” Morgan Goheen, 22, fondly recalls. She was a member of the 1998 BRASS class, is a 2007 Princeton graduate in molecular biology, and recently started a research fellowship at RML. “BRASS definitely helped direct me in my career.”
Polish Makes BRASS Shine
The RML BRASS model is a modified version of a program developed by NIH. RML organizers willingly share information about their program upon request to help others interested in starting their own versions of BRASS.
The story of why and how RML developed its program centers on sharing and caring.
In the late 1990s, RML scientists were contemplating ways to share their love of science with community members. With nearly 100 RML employees having either medical or doctoral degrees, Hamilton—population 3,500—has a high per-capita ratio of advanced degrees. And although RML had been part of the community since the mid-1920s, the infectious disease research laboratory was a mysterious place to many residents.
During a 1998 trip to Bethesda, Maryland, home of the main NIH campus, RML’s Marshall Bloom, M.D., learned of a program that invited middle school students from the Washington, D.C. area to the NIH campus on Saturdays for structured learning and laboratory training.
The program was known as BRASS—Biomedical Research Advancement: Saturday Scholars. NIH instructors used a thick three-ring binder of program planning, operation, and curriculum to guide them. As the NIH program grew, it became cumbersome because of challenges like weekend student transportation needs, payment for guest speakers, and even providing snacks.
“I figured this was something RML could bring to Hamilton and schools in the Bitterroot Valley but on a much simpler scale,” Dr. Bloom recalls. “We needed to keep it focused on students and science and let their natural interest take hold.”
Dr. Bloom returned to Montana and showed the three-ring BRASS binder to colleagues. The idea took hold immediately with people like Fischer, the electron microscopist; microbiologist Kit Tilly, Ph.D., a Lyme disease researcher; and visual arts specialist Anita Mora. Brainstorming sessions quickly began with local school faculty members and administrators.
They agreed that BRASS would work best as a weekday activity after school; that a school classroom would be an ideal setting; that instructors would participate as volunteers; and that schools should provide snacks.
One afternoon in the fall of 1998, an RML scientist brought equipment into a Hamilton Middle School classroom and ushered in a new era of BRASS.
New Scientists, New Ideas
Mora believes BRASS is successful because visiting RML research fellows are willing to participate. Research fellowships typically last between three and five years, which provides a steady influx of energetic young researchers to teach BRASS sessions. The visiting researchers work alongside a core group of permanent RML employees who repeatedly volunteer. Fischer says more than 100 RML scientists from around the world have taught BRASS students.
“Our instructors are the backbone of the program,” she says. “They not only share knowledge, they also are great role models who convey that science has global appeal and diversity.”
The organizers also are thankful for support from the NIAID Office of Training and Special Emphasis Programs, which has financially contributed to the program since 2002.
BRASS topics constantly evolve depending on the interests of the instructors. “We’ve covered cancer, HIV, epidemiology, and even library science,” Mora says.
To those mentors, teaching a two-hour weekly session can mean several hours of preparation, which must be added to their regular RML jobs researching ways to develop better diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for various infectious diseases. And today, each BRASS session involves four RML scientists, not one as in 1998.
The scientists make the biggest commitment to the program, Mora believes. “Most of their work is designed to be understood by other scientists, so it can be a challenge for them to develop materials for seventh and eighth graders, but they do it with great skill.”
BRASS always includes a session on why scientists use animals in research, and it remains one of the most popular topics. In teaching that session, Mike Parnell, DVM, chief of the RML veterinary branch, tackles awkward questions straight on.
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| Two Hamilton Middle School students suture the incision that allowed them to implant a mock pacemaker in a pig heart. Looking on are Don Gardner, rear left, a DVM and pathologist at RML, and the sister and father of one of the students. The family members observed as part of the 2003 BRASS graduation ceremony. (Credit: RML/NIAID) |
“Animals have played critical roles in biomedical research throughout history,” Dr. Parnell says. “We try to instill that knowledge, a sense of respect for animals, and an individual obligation to ensure the humane care and use of all animals.” So, along with learning the difference between mice, rats, hamsters, and gerbils—and their contributions as human models for research—students also learn how to properly put on surgical gloves, masks, and gowns in order to implant a mock pacemaker in a pig’s heart and suture the incision.
Dr. Parnell says students and parents have expressed doubt about using animals in research, “but no one has been absolutely against it, so I think we do a good job of exposing them to the balance between animal welfare, human care, and valid science.”
Grounded in Science
Goheen, the Princeton graduate, was a shy, quiet eighth grader with many interests when she participated in BRASS nine years ago.
In 2008, her RML fellowship will take her to Africa and The Gambia, where she will collect swabs from the eyes of people suffering from severe cases of trachoma, a potentially blinding disease caused by chlamydia bacteria. Goheen is a member of an RML research group led by Harlan Caldwell, Ph.D., that is working to develop a vaccine to prevent chlamydia infection. The research group will bring the field samples back to RML for in-depth genetic analysis.
The trip will be Goheen’s second to Africa. While at Princeton in 2006, she traveled to South Africa, where she helped treat HIV and TB patients in clinics near Cape Town.
Another 1998 BRASS alumnus, Bryan Hansen, has a similar story. A senior at Western Washington University, he has worked summers at RML since he was in high school, including the past three summers alongside Fischer. In 2006 his electron microscopy work earned him a prestigious national collegiate award from the Microscopy Society of America.
“I still have my original notebook from BRASS,” Hansen says. “Being in that program showed me what cool things scientists get to do on a regular basis. It really made me want to continue with science.”
Similar anecdotes are readily shared by other BRASS alumni still involved in science, all of whom speak highly of their days spent in BRASS and how it has affected their adult decisions.
“Those are the ideal stories,” Fischer says, but quickly adds that BRASS is truly about understanding the role of science in our lives, not necessarily about succeeding in a scientific career.
“Being scientifically literate and having increased awareness of scientific methodology is what we try to convey,” she says. “Science has become increasingly important for leaders making global decisions and for public policies that affect our health, the environment and technological advancements.
“Those aspects of science affect us all, whether we are citizens, politicians, journalists or scientists.”
—Ken Pekoc
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