Education

APS Recognizes Outstanding High School Research Efforts at the 54th Annual
International Science and Engineering Fair

2003 Undergraduate Summer Research Fellows and Hosts Announced

Summer Research Teachers and Research Hosts Honored at Luncheon

San Diego Science Teachers and Students Participate in Physiology Workshop
at Experimental Biology 2003

APS Archive of Teaching Resources

American Physiological Society Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award

American Physiological Society David S. Bruce Undergraduate Research Award

APS Recognizes Outstanding High School Research Efforts at the 54th Annual
International Science and Engineering Fair

    The 54th Annual International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) was held in Cleveland, OH, on May 11-17, 2003. Sponsored by Intel, this year’s ISEF featured over 1,200 outstanding high school science students from the US and 38 other countries. Students competed individually or as teams in 14 different categories, including behavioral and social sciences, biochemistry, computer science, engineering, gerontology, medicine and health, and zoology. In addition to the Grand Awards presented by the Intel Foundation and five other organizations, Special Awards were given by 93 scientific, professional, industrial, educational, and governmental organizations. Special Awards ranged from scholarships and tuition grants to summer internships, scientific field trips and equipment grants. APS presented Special Awards in the form of cash prizes and student memberships to select finalists with the best projects in the physiological sciences, including cellular physiology, animal physiology, and neurophysiology.
    The judging team, led by Bill Jackson from the Department of Biological Sciences at Western Michigan University, included APS members Michael Romero and Ulrich Hopfer from the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH.
    The APS First Place Award of $1,000 went to Irene Yuan Sun, a senior at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, IN. Sun’s project, “Gene expression analysis of synovial cells in response to impulsive shock” also won a Second Place Grand Prize Award in the category of Medicine and Health. Daniel Jacob Sachs won the APS Second Place Award of $500 with his project, “Simvastatin activation of ryanodine receptor-mediated calcium channels may promote myolysis.” Sachs is a senior at John Jay High School in Katonah, NY. There was a tie for the APS Third Place Award between Anila Madiraju, a senior at Marianopolis College in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Truc Thanh Pham, a senior at Suncoast High School in Riviera Beach, FL. Both students will receive $500 from the APS. Madiraju also was awarded an Intel Young Scientist Scholarship, and her project, “Silencing Cancer with RNA” was selected as Best of Category in Medicine and Health. Pham’s project, “Effect of age on B-cell responsiveness to stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and B-lymphocyte chemoattractant (BLC)” was also awarded a Fourth Place Grand Prize.
    In addition to the four award winners, the APS recognized eight other students in the form of a one-year student membership to the APS and subscriptions to The Physiologist and News in Physiological Sciences. These outstanding science students were: Tania Sharlin Sierra, a senior at Suncoast High School, Riviera Beach, FL (An electrical model of the transmembrane potential of axons in Loligo Pealei); Anand Athiviraham, a junior at Saint Thomas High School, Pte Claire, Quebec, Canada (INGAP peptide: New therapeutic approach for diabetes); Christopher Yu, a senior from Caddo Parish Magnet High School in Shreveport, LA (A role for green tea polyphenols in the inhibition of hepatocyte growth factor mediated prostate cancer progression); Johni Beth Gibbs, a junior at Harmony Grove High School in Benton, AR (The effects of over-the-counter drugs on the heart rate of Daphnia); Chelsea Ray Keeney, a senior at the School of the Osage in Kaiser, MO (Determining a correlation between salivary cortisol concentrations, socio-economic classes and at-risk school-aged children); Jill Shizuko Harunaga, a senior at Kamehameha Secondary School, Honolulu, HI (Damnacanthal and the cytoskeleton: Noni anthraquinone normalizes the cancer cell phenotype); Yibo (Ethan) Yang, a senior at Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, CA (Different caspases mediate age-related apoptosis in neurons with astrocytes); and John Louis Gehrig, a senior at Caddo Parish Magnet School in Shreveport, LA (The role of leukocytes in the exacerbation of ischemia-reperfusion injury in hypercholesterolemic mice).
    Next year’s Intel ISEF will be held in Portland, OR, May 9-15, 2004. The one-day judging for APS Special Awards is always an interesting, rewarding, and enlightening experience for APS members who participate. For those in the Portland area, please consider joining the APS judging team for the 2004 Intel ISEF. If interested, please contact Marsha Matyas in the APS Education Office (mmatyas@the-aps.org).

Bill Jackson
APS Education Committee

Bill Jackson presents APS Special Awards to (left to right) Irene Sun, Truc Thanh Pham, Daniel Sachs, and Anila Madiraju.		The APS judging team (left to right): Michael Romero, Ulrich Hopfer and Bill Jackson.

2003 Undergraduate Summer Research Fellows and Hosts Announced

    The American Physiological Society’s Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowships program is sponsored by the APS Career Opportunities in Physiology Committee and funded by the APS Council. Up to 12 fellowships are funded each summer. The program was established in 2000, making this the fourth year of the program.
These fellowships are to support full-time undergraduate students to work in the laboratory of an established investigator. The intent of this program is to excite and encourage students to pursue a career as a basic research scientist. Faculty sponsors/advisors must be active members of the APS in good standing but do not have to be US residents. Past awardees include students from Canada and South America.
    These Fellowships provide a $2,000 summer stipend to the student (10 weeks of support), a $500 grant to the faculty sponsor/advisor, and up to $800 to the student so that he/she may attend and present their data at the APS annual meeting (Experimental Biology) or an APS fall Conference.
    This year 57 applicants vied for the 12 fellowships.

Summer Research Teachers and Research Hosts Honored at Luncheon

    As the culmination of their 12-month fellowship, the 2002 Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine Summer Research Teachers (SRTs) attended Experimental Biology 2003 to learn about the latest science research findings, meet with physiologists, attend workshops and tour the posters and exhibits. Six of the 20 Research Teachers also presented posters about their summer research projects along with their research hosts and lab teams.
    The 2002 SRTs and their APS member Research Hosts were honored at a luncheon during Experimental Biology 2003. Teachers were presented certificates of achievement, and their Research Hosts were presented certificates of appreciation for their participation in the 12-month fellowship. Robert Carroll, Chair of the Education Committee, served as the master of ceremonies and President Barbara Horwitz and Executive Director Martin Frank offered their congratulations while presenting the certificates to the teachers and their hosts.
The Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine programs are designed to create ongoing relationships between research scientists and middle and high school teachers; and to promote the adoption of the National Science Education Standards for K-12 science content and pedagogical techniques among middle and high school teachers. The Explorations in Biomedicine project works intensively with the science faculty at Montana schools and tribal colleges that serve Native American students to create an atmosphere that encourages science studies, and the exploration and pursuit of biomedical research careers.
    The Summer Research program offers teachers nationwide a full-time, hands-on laboratory experience for seven to eight weeks at APS members’ research labs. Teachers also attend a one-week workshop at the Airlie Center in Warrenton, VA, where they explore hands-on, inquiry based teaching strategies, consider classroom equity and technology-use issues, and begin to develop their own inquiry lab activities.
    Frontiers in Physiology is sponsored by APS, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), Science Education Partnership Awards (SEPA), and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health. The Explorations in Biomedicine program is administered through a partnership between APS and the American Indian Research Opportunities (AIRO) consortium of Montana tribal colleges and Montana State University-Bozeman, Bozeman, MT.
    More information about these programs is available on the APS website at http://www.the-aps.org/education/edu_k12.htm.

A few of the 2002 Summer Research Teachers and APS Education Office staff celebrate the successful completion of the year-long fellowship. Pictured are Education Officer Marsha Matyas, Diana Hill, Lisa Bidelspach, Louise Hartwell, Shelley Epperson, Leigh Foy, Sheree Watson, and Kathleen Kelly, K-12 Programs Coordinator.		Marsha Matyas, Barbara Horwitz and Martin Frank address the SRTs at the completion of the fellowship.

San Diego Science Teachers and Students Participate in Physiology Workshop
at Experimental Biology 2003

    San Diego area high school teachers and students participated in the Physiology for Life Science Teachers and Students Workshop on Monday, April 14, at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. The workshop included a keynote presentation, a careers panel discussion, lunch and hands-on physiology workshops for the teachers and students. During this jam-packed day, participants learned about current research findings, explored hands-on, inquiry based lab activities, learned about education and careers in biomedicine, met with APS researchers, and toured the EB posters and exhibits. Education Committee member, Walter Ward, University of Texas Health Sciences Center, coordinated the day’s events and Robert Carroll, Eastern Carolina University, Chair of the Education Committee, served as the master of ceremonies.
    The keynote speaker, John B. West, University of California, San Diego, took the students and teachers to dizzying heights with his presentation, “High Living: Physiology Studies on the Summit of Mt. Everest.” With vivid slides and fascinating stories, West detailed his 1981 American Medical Research Expedition to Everest to conduct the first-ever physiological measurements on the summit.
    West then joined the Careers in Physiology Panel Discussion that was moderated by Margaret Shain, a middle school science teacher from New Albany, IN, and Frontiers in Physiology Curriculum Development fellow. The panel included Martin Farias, a Senior Fellow at the University of Washington, and recent graduate student, Ollie Kelly from Emory University, GA. The panelists shared their different experiences and perspectives on careers in physiology with the audience. As the three physiologists discussed academia, research and careers in biomedicine, students and teachers learned about the excitement of being a researcher, the steps it takes to become a research scientist and the variety of ways that an interest in science can spark a career path.
    After the panel discussion, the students and teachers met with the APS members who volunteered to take them on a tour of the posters and exhibits, where they were introduced to the latest research findings and scientific equipment. For many students, this was the first time they met with a “real scientist.” As in years past, many students commented that this was their favorite part of the day.
    After lunch, the teachers participated in a Teacher In-service Workshop led by 2002 Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine Research Teachers and Curriculum Development fellows. Diana Hill, Putnam City High School, Oklahoma City, OK and Ada Harvey, Flagler Palm Coast High School, Bunnell, FL, led “Junkyard Digestion,” a hands-on exploration of the digestion system that included building a working model of the digestive tract. Lisa Bidelspach, Clear Creek High School, League City, TX, Charles Geach, El Paso ISD, El Paso, TX, and Sheree Watson, Great Falls High School, Great Falls, MT, presented “Touch This!” activities that explored the world of neuroscience and mechanoreceptors.
    A team of physiologists including George Tempel, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Barbara Goodman, University of South Dakota, and Rayna Gonzales, University of California, Irvine, led students in selected activities from the “Physiology of Fitness” learning cycle unit. Through these hands-on, inquiry-based experiments, students explored factors that affect blood flow and pressure.
    The Frontiers in Physiology and Explorations in Biomedicine programs are designed to create ongoing working relationships between research scientists and middle/high school teachers via research and inservice experiences and electronic communications. Additionally, these programs promote the adoption of national standards for K-12 content and pedagogical techniques among middle and high school science teachers through ongoing inservice activities developed collaboratively by teachers and physiology researchers.
    Frontiers in Physiology is a program of APS, and is sponsored by APS, the National Center for Research Resources, Science Education Partnership Awards, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. The Explorations in Biomedicine project works intensively with the science faculty at Montana schools and tribal colleges that serve Native American students to create an atmosphere that encourages science studies, the exploration and pursuit of biomedical research careers, and opportunities for students to interact with biomedical researchers in their geographic area and across the nation. The overall goal of this project is to increase interest and participation in biomedical research careers among Native American students. Explorations in Biomedicine is a collaborative program of APS and the American Indian Research Opportunities Consortium and is supported by a grant from the NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences Minority Access to Research Careers Program.
For more information about these APS programs, please visit the APS website at: http://www.the-aps.org/education.htm.
 

Ollie Kelly and Martin Farias share their perspectives during a panel discussion on careers in physiology.		John West captivates students and teachers with his keynote presentation about physiology experiments at the summit of Mt. Everest.

During the in-service workshop on mechanoreceptors, San Diego-area teachers and 2002 Summer Research teachers try out the two-point discrimination test.		During the in-service workshop on mechanoreceptors, San Diego-area teachers and 2002 Summer Research teachers try out the two-point discrimination test.

APS Archive of Teaching Resources

    The APS Archive of Teaching Resources (http://www.apsarchive.org) continues to grow with the recruitment of a variety of new learning objects from educators all over the country. To date, there are over 250 items catalogued in the Archive from various sources.
However, more material is still needed. Please consider submitting material that you have developed to use to make your teaching more effective. These can be
• lecture or course outlines or PowerPoint slides from a lecture that is particularly effective with your students;
• problems or cases you’ve written for your classes;
• diagram(s) that you’ve created to illustrate a specific pathway or process that seems to clarify it for your students;
• simulations or videos you have developed;
• web sites you have discovered that have valuable information for your teaching;
• teaching tools/materials that you are developing that would benefit from feedback from your colleagues;
• anything educationally related to physiology, pathophysiology, or clinical physiology.
    By submitting learning objects that you have developed, you can help your colleagues in their efforts to find the best tools for introducing their students to the exciting discipline of physiology.
    Here are some new items in the Archive. Take a moment and check out those that are most relevant to your teaching. Don’t forget that you can comment on any of these items through the comment section attached to each item, which can be found on its Fact Sheet.
• Renal Lecture Problems (PowerPoint); Rob Carroll
• The Nerve Impulse Seen from Outside (web site); Dexter Easton
• Electrochemical Equilibrium (Nernst) Lab (simulation); Michael Davis
• Case studies for chapter review and integration; Ann McNeal

American Physiological Society Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award

    The Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award honors a member of the American Physiological Society who is judged to have made outstanding contributions to physiological research and demonstrated dedication and commitment to excellence in training of young physiologists whether by mentoring, guiding and nurturing their professional and personal development, developing novel education methods/materials, promoting scientific outreach efforts, attracting individuals to the field of physiology, or by otherwise fostering an environment exceptionally conducive to education in physiology.
The award was established to recognize Bodil M. Schmidt-Nielsen, the first woman President of the Society and a distinguished physiologist who has made significant contributions in her field. The award of $1,000 and a commemorative plaque will be presented at the annual Experimental Biology meeting where the awardee will meet with APS members and young scientists. The first award will be made at EB 2004 in Washington, DC.
    Nominations can be submitted to the Women in Physiology Committee by any member of the American Physiological Society. The nomination should include the following:
1. a letter stating the basis for nomination with a synopsis of the nominee’s scientific contributions and mentoring skills and evidence related to the criteria, such as: assisting students with research funding or job placement, success of graduates, publications and presentations of graduate students, participation in graduate education activities, successful role model, teaching awards, descriptions of innovative teaching methods, etc.;
2. a list of current and former trainees and their current positions and any award they received;
3. at least two and up to five additional support letters;
4. nominee’s current curriculum vitae.
    The nomination packet should be submitted by either a nominator(s) or by a nominator and the nominee.
    Applications can be sent to the following address: Bodil Schmidt-Nielsen Distinguished Mentor and Scientist Award, American Physiological Society, Education Office, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3991.
    Applications are due by October 1, 2003.
For questions, please contact the APS Education Office at 301-634-7132 or education@the-aps.org.

American Physiological Society David S. Bruce Undergraduate Research Award

    David S. Bruce (1939-2000) served as Chair of the APS Teaching Section and as a professor of physiology at Wheaton College from 1978-2000. Bruce was a dedicated physiology educator who played active roles in both the APS and the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society. As an undergraduate educator at Wheaton College, Bruce had a particular interest in engaging undergraduate students in scientific research. Bruce not only encouraged and supported his students in participating in research, but he also regularly brought undergraduate students to the Experimental Biology meeting, often to present their research findings. In 2000, Bruce died at the age of 61 of complications following a kidney transplant. The David Bruce Award will honor Bruce’s commitment to promoting undergraduate involvement in research, in the APS annual meeting, and, ultimately, in research careers.
    The David S. Bruce Awards will be made each year at the Experimental Biology meeting to up to four undergraduate students who have both submitted abstracts for the meeting and award application materials. Abstracts will be reviewed by the David S. Bruce Award Committee prior to the Experimental Biology (EB) meeting. The award committee includes selected members of the APS Education Committee and, if deemed necessary, additional APS members to provide a breadth of coverage for major topic areas. The Award Committee will select 12-15 finalists. These students will be notified of their finalist status well in advance of the meeting.
    At EB, all undergraduate students will be invited to present their research posters not only during their regular scientific session but also at a special poster session to be held Sunday evening prior to the Bowditch Lecture. Earlier in the day, the 12-15 finalists will be asked to set up their posters in the same room. They will be interviewed by the Award Committee in the afternoon. After the interviews, the Committee will decide the final awardees. The final awardees will be announced and will receive their certificates during the Sunday evening undergraduate poster session. Winners will also be announced at the APS Business Meeting on Tuesday evening.
Applicants for the David S. Bruce Award must:
1. be enrolled as an undergraduate student at the time of the application and at the time of the EB meeting;
2. be the first author on a submitted abstract for the EB meeting. Students may not submit more than one abstract for the award competition each year;
3. be working with an APS member who attests that the student is deserving of the first authorship;
4. have not previously won the David S. Bruce Award;
5. submit a one-page letter that discusses his/her role in the research, the significance of the research, and his/her career plans.
Abstracts and student letters will serve as the basis for selection of the 12-15 finalists. Review criteria include the following:
• The abstract displays a clear logic and flow of ideas.
• The scientific problem includes a clear hypothesis to be tested, a well-described approach to the problem using clear experimental methods or model.
• The results of the study are presented succinctly.
• The discussion and/or conclusions are concise and follow logically from the results presented.
• The student’s letter indicates that s/he played a significant role in the research, has an understanding of the significance of the research, and has some interest in a biomedical and/or physiology-related career.
As noted above, the Award Committee will interview the 12-15 finalists during the special undergraduate poster session. Winners will be selected from among the finalists. The Awards Committee will consider:
• quality of the poster and oral presentation;
• quality of graphics used;
• organization of the poster;
• creativity used in displaying and describing the research as well as in the development of the research project;
• novelty of the research project;
• student display of his/her understanding of the work and its significance.
    Following the poster presentation, the Awards Committee will meet to make their final selections. The APS Council previously recommended that the total number of awards be not greater than 10% of the applicant pool, with a maximum of four awards annually. Each of the awards will include:
• $500 travel award;
• award certificates for both finalists and awardees.
Note: All undergraduates already are eligible for free registration to EB; therefore, registration is not part of the award.
    As noted earlier, the awards would be presented at the end of the Sunday evening undergraduate poster session and will be noted at the APS Business Meeting on Tuesday evening. Presentation of the awards during the weekend is important since most undergraduate students are unable to stay at the meeting until the Tuesday business meeting; most leave by Monday afternoon. Those who stay until Tuesday generally leave in the afternoon.
    The student finalists and awardees will be contacted in subsequent years to both determine their career progress and to invite their continued participation in APS meetings and activities such as the Summer Research Program.

[Index] [PLoS] [156th APS Business Meeting] [Experimental Biology 2004 Preview] [Membership] [Chapter News] [Publications] [Public Affairs] [News From Senior Physiologists] [Positions Available] [Book Reviews] [People & Places] [Announcements] [Scientific Meetings and Congresses] [APS Membership Application]