Molecular Medicine In Action Offers Hands-On Research

The two-day successful program, now in its eleventh year, grants these select students the opportunity to work alongside some of the nation’s top researchers in the labs of the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research.

“This conference introduces the students to incredible new knowledge that is rapidly becoming accessible from the recent advances in biomedicine and the quickening pace of scientific discovery,” said MMIA program director Karen Pollok, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics and director of the In Vivo Therapeutics Core for the Indiana University Simon Cancer Center. “More than 500 Indiana high school students now have shared the excitement of what genetic science promises—both for understanding and developing treatments as well as cures of complex diseases. We also continue to update our research modules to include emerging new technologies.”

IU scientists will guide students through laboratories and workstations where they will learn how gene mutations are identified, how DNA is isolated, how to use the latest microscopic imaging techniques and other fundamentals of modern biomedical research. Also, Eric M. Meslin, PhD., director of the IU Center for Bioethics, will explain to students the role of ethics in biomedical research. Dr. Meslin incorporates a computer-based interactive component to his lecture. “We are excited about integrating this novel technology into our lectures and research modules,” commented Pollok.

The Molecular Medicine In Action program seeks to get students intrigued about science and inspire them to pursue careers in science. Also, MMIA organizers hope to raise awareness of areas of excellence at Riley Hospital for Children and the IU School of Medicine, and increase interaction between the medical school and Indiana’s secondary schools and teachers.

Support for this year’s program includes funding in part from the Riley Children’s Foundation, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, and IU School of Medicine.

Students participating in this year’s MMIA program are:

###

The Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research conducts basic science and translational research within the Department of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, offering exceptional opportunities for collaborations between basic scientists and physicians. Areas of pediatric research include immune disorders, blood-related and heart diseases, lung development, diabetes, and cancer and growth disorders. The Wells Center is affiliated with Riley Hospital for Children and Riley Children’s Foundation. Since opening in 1991, the Center has grown from 4 investigators and 3 employees to the current staff of 34 investigators and 200 staff members. Work in the Wells Center focuses on both discovery basic research and “translational” studies, which seek to rapidly move basic or bench research findings into the clinical setting. The research programs of Wells faculty are multidisciplinary and traverse traditional clinical section boundaries. Sections represented from Riley Hospital and Department of Pediatrics includes Hematology/Oncology, Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine, Cardiology, Endocrinology and Diabetology, Pulmonology and Critical Care and Dermatology and Medicine.