My Kenan Fellowship is with the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center located at NC State University. My project is entitled: Genetic Engineering and Pest Control. While working with Dr. Fred Gould and Dr. Jennifer Kuzma, the co-directors of the GES, I am also working with IGERT fellowship doctoral students, Sophia Webster & Jennifer Baltzegar, who work with different facets of the ethical and scientific research that impacts world health and global understanding of new genetic technologies.
Sophia, who is a part of the IGERT cohort studying Mosquitoes and Human Health, is working on the process of developing transgenic mosquitoes.
Jenn, who is a part of the IGERT cohort studying Agricultural Pests, is studying the genetic variations in corn weevils and the agricultural implications for the variation of populations that are in different locations.
A major part of the work of the GES center is on the ethical, cultural and societal understanding of the science. Both Jen, and Sophia have shared with me the ethical implications for their research, and similar research projects in the past. I will spend the second half of the summer working in the GES center learning about conveying some of these new and upcoming scientific fields to the general public.
Throughout this fellowship, I am learning about science and the new technologies that are being developed. As I am learning this summer, I hope to incorporate my experience into learning experiences for my students.
As I go through this project, I have three main goals that focus my experience:
- Create a comprehensive, project based learning unit for genetic engineering that helps students get really world experience and understanding of emerging and changing DNA technologies.
- Connect students with scientists and researchers in order to encourage student interest in future opportunities with science.
- Assist fellow educators in teaching relevant and changing scientific topics