Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus teams with healthcare organizations, universities and private companies to expose students to science and medicine

ROCKVILLE – In a collaborative effort to make science exciting, Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus and neighbors in the Shady Grove Life Sciences Center are opening their doors and labs to seventh-grade students for a fun-filled, educational day of science and medicine.

The 9th annual Frontiers in Science and Medicine Day is scheduled for 9 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27. Students from Kingsview Middle School in Germantown and Poole Middle School in Poolesville are participating in this year’s event. Nearly 500 students are slated to attend.

Students will spend part of the day at Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus, where they will participate in hands-on science and medicine activities. The activities are run by local science research organizations and colleges.

Students will also spend part of the day visiting a local laboratory or hospital so they can experience what doctors and scientists do each day. Lab activities include viewing brain specimen under a microscope; learning how DNA is used in forensics; watching mosquitoes feed on blood to learn about malaria; and learning about proper techniques for making intravenous preparations. A full list of lab activities is below.

Lab tours will be held at Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center; BioReliance; Institute for Bioscience & Biotechnology Research; Johns Hopkins University; MedImmune; National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Chemical Genomics Center; NeuroDiagnostics; Sanaria; and at several sites at the Universities at Shady Grove.

If you plan to cover this event, please email Ellen Poltilove at ellenp@jhu.edu to make arrangements to visit either Johns Hopkins Montgomery County Campus (9601 Medical Center Drive in Rockville) or a participating lab site.

Lab Tours

Adventist Healthcare Shady Grove Medical Center

Heart monitors, defibrillators, pulse ox monitors, ventilators. You’ve seen them used on TV. Now see how they work. Students will learn how medical professionals use modern technology in emergency situations to save lives. Students also will have an opportunity to tour the Pediatric Emergency Department.

BioReliance

Have you ever wondered whether the medicine you are taking is safe? Or why it takes so long for a new medicine to become available? BioReliance is one of the area’s leading companies providing developing, testing and manufacturing services to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies around the world to ensure your medicine is safe. When you visit BioReliance, you will get a behind-the-scenes look at the labs that test and manufacture medicine.

Institute for Bioscience & Biotechnology Research

Students will see how researchers use advanced technologies to learn what molecules do in living systems. They will visit a plant transformation facility where plants are genetically transformed and grown in culture and an insect manipulation facility where mosquitoes are transformed using state-of-the-art genetic manipulation equipment.

Johns Hopkins University - epidemiology

Become an epidemiologist as you and your team work to solve the mystery surrounding a growing epidemic that has hit one small town. As a disease detective, you will determine the source of the epidemic and what you will need to do to keep the “zombie” virus from spreading.

Johns Hopkins University - forensics lab

Students will visit the wet lab to learn about DNA and how it is used in forensics (think CSI) in our state-of-the-art teaching lab. Students will do experiments with DNA that will help identify the culprit in our “who ate the cat food” scenario and will use several pieces of lab equipment.

MedImmune

Students will tour an active research and development laboratory and learn about the work being performed in that lab, the equipment used in the research, and the educational background/requirements of the people performing the work. Scientists at MedImmune are pushing the boundaries of science, working to create innovative medicines to attack diseases like cancer, severe asthma, diabetes and pandemic flu.

NIH Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)

Students will see the laboratory’s experimental screening robot in action. The robot, which can perform more than 2.2 million experiments per day, is the main piece of equipment used to determine the activities of different chemicals on cells, genes and proteins.

NeuroDiagnostics

Students will learn about the brain and Alzheimer’s disease, and have an opportunity to view brain specimen under a microscope. Students will gown up, practice how to pipette liquids and use those skills to measure protein by spectroscopy.

Sanaria

Mosquitoes will be set up so students can see different developmental stages and watch them feed on blood. Students

will view malaria parasites under the microscope and learn about freezing biological materials using liquid nitrogen.

Salisbury University – Exercise Science Lab
Students will practice skills used to assess the functional movement of patients, read an electrocardiogram and learn to measure blood pressure. They will learn about careers in physical therapy, health and fitness through hands-on use of equipment, as well as the application of science in strength and conditioning, sports medicine and injury prevention.

University of Maryland School of Nursing

Simulation is a technique that allows students in a healthcare field to practice their skills, lean to work in teams and manage real-life situations with a computerized manikin before caring for actual patients. Students will meet “Sim Man” and participate in a simulation experience, find out how many germs are on their cell phone and what’s in their favorite snacks.

University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Today’s pharmacists do much more than dispense medications. Students will see a medication order processing area, which houses 12 order entry terminals, prescription and over-the-counter- medications, robotics and new technologies that enhance safe medication practices. Students also will visit four IV hoods, where they will learn proper sterile techniques while making intravenous preparations. Students also can see the patient counseling area, where pharmacists-in-training practice advising patients on prescriptions, immunizations, disease states and more.