Researchers in the making:
Making the grade
An AHFMR program offers top Grade 11 students the opportunity to spend the summer in a university research lab.
When we think about what goes on in laboratories, television crime shows that feature forensic investigators using scientific evidence may come to mind. Or we might imagine the stereotype of the introverted scientist, complete with pocket protector and taped glasses, nose buried in a textbook. But every summer, Grade 11 students from various high schools around the province have the opportunity to separate fact from fiction by spending their summer doing research.
The Heritage Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS) program, which was developed and funded by AHFMR, matches up exceptional students with exceptional university researchers. Grade 11 students with a minimum average of 85% compete for coveted positions in labs at the universities of Alberta, Calgary, and Lethbridge. From the pool of 150 applicants, 48 students were selected to be this year's HYRS participants.
Anna Wu was one such student. She spent her summer working in the lab of AHFMR Senior Scholar Dr. Babita Agrawal, an associate professor at the University of Alberta, where she learned a considerable amount about research and researchers.
Anna's summer project was part of a larger body of research in Dr. Agrawal's lab: research looking at how the immune system functions to help clear viral infections. "I took a harmless bacterium, Caulobacter crescentus, which has been modified to express a new gene. The protein encoded by this new gene has the ability to make stem cells turn into—or 'differentiate' into—specialized immune cells called dendritic cells. So we take the Caulobacter with the new gene and add it to stem cells. If they become dendritic cells, then we have a new tool for research as well as therapy."
This repertoire of technical abilities sounds very impressive, but Anna says she has learned more than laboratory skills. "I think one of the most important things I've learned is how much time goes into research. You have to grow the Caulobacter—and that takes a while—and then watching the stem cells to see if they differentiate also takes time. If you mess up a step, you lose time; so you have to be really careful. I think that the people that do this work have to love it, because it can be difficult."
Dr. Agrawal has participated in the HYRS program in previous years, and she says that not only do the high school students learn in the lab, but they play another important role. "Many of the graduate students in my lab want to go on to be professors and run their own labs, and if you run your own lab you have to supervise students," she says. "These graduate students are mentors to the HYRS students: they show them how research is done and inspire them to want to do research. It's a wonderful experience for all."
Of course it's not all work; there is some play involved too. HYRS organizers also arrange evening outings. The students can take part in movie nights and minigolf tournaments and get to know the other high-school students participating in the program. Many become good friends. Anna says she also had fun with the people in Dr. Agrawal's lab. "Before getting involved with HYRS, I thought that researchers were geeks," she admits. "But everyone in Dr. Agrawal's lab is so outgoing and fun. We did a lot of stuff together."
Another research stereotype bites the dust.