STARS NOTES
S C I E N C E T E A C H E R A C C E S S T O R E S O U RC E S AT S O U T H W E S T E R N STARS Notes
Fall 2009 STARS Events
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Volume XV, Number 1
on Lung Cancer and Leukemia: Genomic Approaches to
A ll STARS activities and events are offered free of charge
to teachers in the state of Texas.
Assessing Radiation Risks. The afternoon session began with
a presentation on Radiation Effects on the Brain by Amelia
Eisch., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry. Benjamin
STARS SYMPOSIA consist of a series of lectures given by Levine, M.D., Professor of Internal Medicine spoke about
scientists and physicians currently doing research at Radiation Effects on the Cardiovascular System followed by a
UT Southwestern Medical Center and affiliated institutions. presentation from Oliver Delgado, graduate student in
The science symposia and inservice sessions are excellent cancer biology on Using Mice to Assess Radiation Effects on
resources for teachers to learn about cutting-edge research in Cancer Initiation and Progression. Jerry Shay, Ph.D., Professor
the biomedical sciences, to discover new classroom activities, of Cell Biology and the speaker organizer, ended the day
and to obtain professional development credit at the same with a look at Countermeasures to Protect Against Radiation
time. If you wish to attend any event, please pre-register by Damage.
calling 214-648-9505 or visiting our online registration page
at https://ais.swmed.edu/starsevent/
Mini-Symposium: Nanomedicine for Cancer Imaging
and Therapy– Sept. 14, 2009
Working with nanotechnology, scientists are creating new
tools, products, and technologies to diagnose and treat
diseases like cancer. Our first talk by David A. Boothman,
Ph.D., Professor, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center,
was on B-Lapachone: A ‘kiss of death’ therapy for cancer. Jinming
Mini-Symposium: Adaptation: From Dinosaurs to DNA (In
Gao, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Simmons Comprehensive
Cancer Center, gave a presentation on Nanomedicine for Collaboration with The Museum of Nature & Science) – Nov. 2, 2009
This mini-symposium featured two talks, one on Charles
Cancer Imaging & Therapy. Teachers really enjoyed getting a
Darwin/animal adaptation and another one on molecular
presentation on this emerging field of research. adaptation, and a hands-on DNA activity for middle school
students. Anthony Fiorillo, Ph.D., Curator of Earth Sciences,
Museum of Nature & Science, gave a talk on “Charles Darwin,
Special Science Symposium: Space Travel, Radiation,
Toothed Birds, and Denali National Park, Alaska”. He focused on
and Health – Oct. 3, 2009 Charles Darwin, his intrigue with tooth birds, and how Alaska
More than 200 Dallas area teachers/students, UTSW facul- served as a gateway for avian faunal exchange between Asia &
ty/staff/students, and other university guests participated in North America as early as the Late Cretaceous (lots of fossil
our special symposium on Space Travel, Radiation, and records). After the break, Marsha Chinal, Instructor, Museum
of Nature & Science, took 24 middle/high school students for
Health. This event was sponsored by STARS and the Harold a break-out session on DNA extraction using strawberries, fin-
C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. Opening gerprinting, and handwriting analysis. Richard K. Bruick,
remarks were made by Dr. Daniel K. Podosky, president of Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, fin-
UT Southwestern, followed by U.S. Congressman Ralph M. ished the symposium session with a lecture on Molecular
Hall, the ranking member of the House Science and Adaptation: How Mammalian Cells Sense and Respond to Their
Environment. He focused on how cells have factors that can
WHAT’S INSIDE
Technology Committee. The first presenter was Richard
sense environmental/metabolic signals and how cells have
Scheuring, D.O., M.S., F.A.A.F.P., Flight Surgeon,
mechanisms to adapt to their environment. Understanding Exploring Post.................................2
Constellation Medical Operation, Johnson Space Center these sensing and signaling pathways may allow us new Virtual Instruments ........................2
and his topic was on Introduction to Space Medicine. avenues to treat diseases.
Spring ‘10 Calendar .......................3
STARS Science Suitcases .............3
Dr. Scheuring was followed by a talk on What Is NASA Doing
to Assess and Reduce Risk, by Francis Cucinotta, Ph.D., Chief
Scientist for NASA’s Space Radiation Program. Andreg Roig, Staff & Programs...........................4
M.D., assistant instructor of internal medicine, gave a talk
on Introduction to Cancer and How I Became Interested in Space
Science followed by a presentation from David Chen, Ph.D.,
professor of radiation oncology, on Radiation DNA Damage
and Repair. The morning session concluded with a talk by
1
Michael Story, Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology,
Continued on Page 3
Virtual Instruments – Valuable Teaching Tools
A s a teacher are you frustrated with a lack of scientific equipment? Are
half your microscopes broken or out for repair? Would you like to use
The Virtual Spectrophotometer is available now for your students. The
software comes with several solutions, or you can make your own
a spectrophotometer, but even a cheap one is way out of your budget? (instructions are included). Your students can determine the absorbance
of solutions (after blanking the instrument with air, water, or another
UT Southwestern is developing a suite of virtual instruments that could solvent) and calculate concentrations of solutes with Beer’s Law as long
be of great benefit to your teaching efforts. The first two of these are now as they adjust the virtual instrument to the correct wavelength and
“ready for prime time.” Others will be developed in the next few years. know the extinction coefficient. Have your students determine the
maximal wavelength. Some of the samples provided even change over
The Virtual Microscope (VI) simulates an actual binocular optical com- time as they are oxidized; students can observe this and plot the rate of
pound microscope. When the software is started up, your students oxidation.
observe a 3-D microscope. The parts of the microscope are labeled with
the click of a mouse. The virtual instruments come with a Teachers Manual and a QuickStart
Guide. The software runs on the PC or on Macintoshes that can run
In fact, the mouse is used to turn all knobs and push all buttons. Go Windows (all Macs produced in the last several years). Right now the
select a slide such as “normal kidney” and it appears on the stage. Turn software is available (at no charge to teachers) on a CD – simply request
the microscope light source on (with the mouse) and dial up the light one from the STARS office and on a website for download at
intensity. To the left of the microscope, on the screen, your students https://ais.swmed.edu/starslab. We are in the beginning stages of devel-
observe the view from the eyepieces. This view is used as they adjust the oping virtual gel boxes (for separation of proteins, DNA and RNA) as
stage to be directly over the light source, and they focus on the sample. well as a virtual thermocycler (for the polymerase chain reaction, or
What are those specks that come into focus? Must be dust on the slide. PCR). Samples generated by PCR from an included genome database
Finally, the image of the kidney appears, and is made clearer by turning can be subjected to electrophoresis in a gel box. Now, how cool is that!
the fine focus knob. Adjusting the condenser iris improves the contrast. Request your Virtual Instruments today!
Students can improve resolution by turning the objective ring to use the
10x or 40x objective. Have your students find a kidney glomerulus. The Virtual Instruments are a part of the Howard Hughes Medical
With the attached camera the students can save or print a micrograph Institute-provided grant to UT Southwestern with additional funding by
of what they see in the scope and send it to the teacher for comment. The Peter O’Donnell Foundation and the UTSW medical school. The
software was written by Dr. Ken Meissner at Texas A&M, with consulta-
At present several human tissues, both normal and in a disease state, can tion by staff at UTSW and teachers at Advanced Placement Strategies
be selected for viewing. Show your students what smoking can do to and Laying The Foundation. The LabView software engine was donat-
the lung, or drinking can do to the liver. Ask them to describe what they ed by National Instruments.
see – observation is a key part of science. We have just added mitosis
slides and lesson plans. These will be featured in our next in-service ses- Please register for the February in-service on the Virtual Instruments at
sion. https://ais.swmed.edu/starsevent/. STARS will demonstrate how to use it
in the classroom and provide lesson plans and labs that will go along
A spectrophotometer is essential in most labs at UT Southwestern and with the instrument.
is a great educational tool to teach students how chemicals or macro-
molecules can be identified or quantified. Unfortunately, spectropho-
tometers are expensive.
Science & Health Careers Exploring Post at UT Southwestern:
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Upcoming Meetings: The explorers meet monthly at
UT Southwestern Medical center in
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM room D1.200 from 6pm-7:30pm.
Interested students may attend for
Monday-Jan. 25th free and yearly membership is
Saturday-Feb. 20th $10.00.
Monday-March 29th Parents are always welcome!!
Monday-April 26th
Check out the website for more
I Learn about careers in science and medicine. Monday-May 24th information and pictures from past
I Meet and network with professionals in different areas meetings:
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/stars
of medicine.
I Come and meet students from different Dallas schools
(click on Exploring POST)
that share a passion for health careers and science.
I Enjoy free snacks and engage in some fun hands-on activities and experiments.
The explorers meet monthly at UT Southwestern Medical center in room D1.200 from 6pm-7:30pm.
2 Interested students may attend for free and yearly membership is $10.00. Parents are always welcome!!
Spring 2010
STARS Summer Research Calendar of Events
for Teachers 2010 Jan. 11, 2010 Monday 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Mini-Symposium: Membrane Transport
Discover & Immerse Yourself in a Culture Lecture Hall, D1.502
Environment of Cutting-Edge Scientific Research Feb. 6, 2010 Saturday 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Teacher Inservice: Virtual Instruments w/ Lesson Plans
E ach summer, the STARS Program at UT Southwestern
Medical Center offers opportunities for teachers to work one-
Meeting Room, D1.200
Limited Enrollment
on-one with faculty researchers on an investigative project in
Mar. 6, 2010 Saturday 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
a laboratory setting. The purpose of this program is to
Special Symposium:
provide teachers the opportunity to perform biomedical
research as a way to help bring new ideas to the classroom Women in Science and Medicine
and to rekindle their interest in science. Teachers will be Lecture Hall, D1.502
matched with a faculty mentor with similar interests and will Please invite your female students to attend with you.
work on a laboratory research project during the course of the April 5, 2010 Monday 5:30 pm- 8:00 pm
summer. As part of the program, participants will develop a
Mini-Symposium: Protein Degradation in
classroom activity related to their research experience,
Health & Disease
produce a poster, and give an oral presentation at the
conclusion of the summer session. The eight-week program Lecture Hall, D1.502
will begin on June 7th and end on July 30, 2010. A stipend Other Important Dates to Remember
will be paid to each teacher, plus monies for classroom Jan. 15, 2010 - Deadline for Science Fair Judge
supplies for their participation in the program. Teachers must Requests
complete an on-line application, essay, and letter of
recommendation from your principal. Please apply on-line at Friday, Feb. 5, 2010, at 4pm
STARS Science Suitcases: Enzyme
WWW.UTSOUTHWESTERN.EDU/STARS. Deadline for Summer Research Program
Applications
Instigator, Organelles Extravaganza
June 7, 2010 - Summer Research Program Begins
& Photosynthesis Suitcase
July 30, 2010 - Summer Research Program Ends
All events are held on the UT Southwestern South Campus.
For directions, call the STARS office or visit the STARS Web page.
Check It Out! TWO science suitcases, the Enzyme Instigator
& Organelle Extravaganza are now available for check out! They contain everything from lesson plans, curriculum
guides, and homework worksheets to videos, games, models, and wet labs needed to teach a concept. The
Photosynthesis Suitcase will be available soon for check out. It will contain teacher and student manuals, animation
DVD, a board game (Sugar Rush), and three hands-on labs. It was featured in our December in-service with great
excitement. Contact the STARS office for more details or to sign up!
STARSmail@UTSouthwestern.edu or 214-648-9505.
Fall 2009 STARS Events
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Continued from Page 1
Teacher In-service: Science Suitcases: Photosynthesis – Dec. 5, 2009
This in-service started with a presentation by Amanda J Wright, Ph.D,
Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, UNT, on
Controlling Division Plane Orientation in Plants. Dr. Wright talked about
her research on Zea mays (maize plants), subsidiary cells (only found
in monocot plants), and how the dcd1 mutant phenotype in these
plants lead to abnormal subsidiary cells that may affect stomata func-
tion. The morning session concluded with a preview on the
Evolution Suitcase by Corbyn Beach, Student Research Assistant,
Biomedical Communications. In the afternoon session, we featured
the third of our seven planned science suitcases on Photosynthesis.
Teachers are provided with everything that is needed to run the labs
and to teach the lessons. The creator of the Photosynthesis Suitcase,
Derek Wu, Student Research Assistant, Biomedical Communications,
came and gave an introduction and an overview of his work. The
teachers spent the rest of the day going over the activities, playing the 3
board game (Sugar Rush), and testing out the labs.
Missed it or Want to
STAFF PROGRAMS
See it Again?
Joel Goodman, Ph.D.
STARS Director SYMPOSIA
Professor of Pharmacology Basic Science Symposia
Jan and Bob Bullock Distinguished Mini-Symposia
Chair for Science Education If you missed a STARS Basic Science
John P. Perkins Distinguished OUTREACH Symposium / Mini-Symposium or want
Professorship in Biomedical Science Bureau of Science Fair Judges to share it with your students and/or
joel.goodman@utsouthwestern.edu Distance Learning Initiative
Research Assistance colleagues, you can order a FREE DVD
Stuart Ravnik, Ph.D. Science Ambassadors of the event(s). Just give us a call or
STARS Associate Director Student Mentoring email.
Assistant Director, Graduate School
stuart.ravnik@utsouthwestern.edu SUMMER RESEARCH
Lynn Tam Summer Research Program for Teachers
Education Program Coordinator Summer Research Program for Students
lynn.tam@utsouthwestern.edu
TOURS
Gwen Johnson UT Southwestern School of Health Professions
Education Assistant UT Southwestern Medical Center
gwen.johnson@utsouthwestern.edu Parkland Health & Hospital System of Dallas
Children’s Medical Center Dallas
Kristie Conner
Education Assistant INSERVICE SESSIONS
kristie.conner@utsouthwestern.edu Proteins & Enzymes
Protein Crystal Growth
5323 Harry Hines Blvd. Genetics
Dallas, Texas 75390-9137 PCR & Gel Electrophoresis
(214) 648-9505 Suturing Techniques
(800) 81-STARS
FAX: (214) 648-9508 SCIENCE TRIATHLON
UT Southwestern is an equal opportunity Supported by
institution. Core funding for the STARS Howard Hughes Medical Institute
program is provided by the state of Texas.
Visit our web site at
www.utsouthwestern.edu/stars
Nonprofit Org.
STARS U.S.POSTAGE
PAID
Dallas, Texas
Permit No. 1233
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Dallas, TX 75390-9137
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