After a day spent extracting DNA from strawberries, pipetting and doing gel electrophoresis experiments, 32 girls from Cypress Creek High School left UF with a few experiments under their belt … and an idea of what a career in science is like. The students visited UF’s Cancer and Genetics Research Complex education laboratory as part of an initiative to help Florida high school teachers inspire their students to pursue careers in science. The UF Center for Precollegiate Education and Training held the visit as part of its Biomedical Explorations: Bench to Bedside program. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the program brings teachers like Cypress Creek’s Vanessa Lopez to UF from across the state to learn about biomedical research and take that information back to their classrooms.
Thanks to all the UF and CTSI-affiliated faculty and staff who share their expertise and open their labs for the Florida high school teachers participating in the Bench to Bedside program.
Video by Chris Bilowich