On a recent Saturday, about a dozen high school juniors learned to isolate follicles and fertilize the eggs of mice, frogs and sea urchins while working in science laboratories on the Evanston campus with University scientists and researchers. A week later, a similar number of senior girls put on blue hospital scrubs and learned to suture, operate a state-of-the-art piece of surgical equipment known as the DaVinci robot and use a laparoscope.As part of a major oncofertility project at Northwestern University, a new educational program is immersing high school girls in the excitement of medical careers. The medical field of oncofertility explores ways to ensure the fertility of girls and women with cancer.
In partnership with the Oncofertility Consortium, the Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Partnerships (OSEP), which was initiated by the School of Education and Social Policy, and the Office of Research are supporting the Center for Reproductive Science in offering the Oncofertility Saturday Academy. Workshops will take place on the Evanston and Chicago campuses, as well as in Oregon and California. One overriding goal is to encourage future generations of oncofertility specialists.
Scientific research, laboratory and health care experiences highlight the three sessions for junior and senior girls. The program at Northwestern is being offered in partnership with Young Women's Leadership Charter School of Chicago, and 27 students from this science-focused public school will be participating.
Meeting in science laboratories on Northwestern's Evanston campus, junior girls in the program will study reproductive anatomy. They will isolate eggs and fertilize sea urchins, frogs and mice. In addition, they will learn about the ethics of animal research and tour animal facilities on campus.
Senior girls in the program will explore topics including science careers, cryopreservation of human sperm and eggs, the ethics of storing embryos, and working with human subjects. As culminating experiences, they will also observe a surgery and use simulators that teach medical students how to do pelvic examinations at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Based on the study of animal reproduction, this more advanced curriculum focuses on human fertility and will conclude with observation of an ultrasound exam and a video of a live birth.Teachers in the program will include faculty and medical students at the University's Center for Reproduction Science and the Feinberg School of Medicine along with OSEP Teresa Jensen.
The Saturday Academy is one of three educational programs that OSEP is leading for the Oncofertility Consortium at Northwestern, a five-year, $21 million project funded by the National Institutes of Health. Through a multidisciplinary approach, the Oncofertility Consortium is bringing together Northwestern experts in areas including medicine, law, social science, bioethics, learning sciences and materials science to focus on preserving the fertility of cancer patients.
OSEP received a grant award of $1 million in connection with the Oncofertility Consortium initiative to develop educational programs. In addition to the Saturday Academy, OSEP is also developing online learning modules to inform and support young female cancer patients faced with threats to fertility. Another important educational effort is providing specialized training for physicians in the latest technology and treatments.
The Saturday Academy is being jointly developed by OSEP and partners at University of California-San Diego and Oregon Health Science University. Eventually, programming at Northwestern will also be offered through the Center for Talent Development at the School of Education and Social Policy.Kemi Jona, director of OSEP, explains, "The human impact of science careers is often ill-communicated to young girls by the way science is currently taught in classrooms. Through outreach programming, we will provide girls an opportunity to experience the excitement and impact of scientific research and health care careers as they start to make decisions about their education during high school and beyond."
For additional information, please contact Teresa Jensen, t-jensen@northwestern.edu
Last Modified: 8/14/09