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The University of Mississippi Medical
Center and
the Telemachian Notes
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__________________________________________________Base Pair & SOAR teachers 2006-2007 Base Pair SOAR
August
1, 2006
First day for JPSD teachers August
7, 2006
Students report August
9-12, 2006
Information research orientation at UMC and parent orientation to
Base Pair September
4, 2006
Labor Day holiday (JPSD, UMC) September
13, 2006
Early Release Professional Development Day (60% day for students) September
14, 2006
Parent/Teacher Conference Day (JPSD) October
2, 2006
JMAS – Oxford, MS October
4, 2006
Early Release Professional Development Day (60% day for students) October
9, 2006
Fall Break November
1, 2006
Early Release Professional Development Day (60% day for students) November
20-24, 2006
Thanksgiving Holiday (JPSD) December
12-16, 2006
Selection of mentors by JPSD students December
20, 2006
Winter Holiday Break (JPSD) January
8-10, 2007
UMC orientation for JPSD students January
11, 2007
UMC reception for students, mentors and parents January
15, 2007
Martin Luther King Holiday (JPSD, UMC) February
7, 2007
Early Release Professional Development Day (60%forstudents) (JPSD) February
8, 2007
Parent/Teacher Conference Day (JPSD) February
9, 2007
District Professional Development (JPSD) February
21-23, 2007
Trip to Mississippi Academy of Sciences meeting - Mississippi
State, MS March
12-16, 2007
Spring Break April
6 & 9, 2007
Easter Observance April
11, 2007
Early Release Professional Development Day (60% day for
students) April
19,
Last day for students (JPSD) May
26 - 30, 2007
Student project presentations at UMC (tentative)
/ SHRP Research Day (tentative) May
25, 2007
Last day for students (JPSD)
The 2006 Base Pair Summer Research Institute focused on four modules: avian influenza, forensic science, biotechnology, and preparations for natural disasters. Funding for the summer program is provided by a grant given to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The project director is Dr. Rob Rockhold, assistant dean for academic affairs and professor of pharmacology at UMC. Instructors for the program were led by Dr. Donna L. Sullivan, professor of infectious diseases and project co-director for the Howard Hughes grant. Additional instructors included numerous faculty members from UMC and three veteran educators from the Jackson metro area, Susan A. Bender from Jim Hill High School, Cindy Cook from Puckett Attendance Center and Mr. Jeffery Stokes from Murrah High School. The institute recruited students and teachers from the Jackson metro area and surrounding counties. The seven teachers selected for participation were Jeanette Jones from Forest Hill High School, Latonya Robinson from Lanier High School, Joyce Williams from Murrah High School, Tammy Cox from Provine High School, Theresa Bynum from Magee High School, Hope Hamlin from Callaway High School, and Karen Ashley from Peeples Middle School.
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_____________________________________________________________________Avian
Influenza: A Primer
What
is avian flu? Avian
flu is a virus that occurs naturally among birds, which is why it is often
referred to as “bird flu.” Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in
their intestines and usually do not get sick from them; however it appears
that a new type of avian flu virus does cause disease and death in
migratory wild birds. Avian
flu was first recorded in Italy more than 100 years ago in 1878. As the
cause of massive poultry epidemics, this disease was then known as “fowl
plague.” It came to the United States in 1924-25, and then again in
1929. Humans
can be infected with influenza types A, B, and C viruses, but type A is
the most common type to produce serious epidemics in humans—and the only
type that affects domestic animals (equine, swine, Avian). Influenza type
A viruses are categorized by the letter’s H and N—depending on the
specific types of proteins on their surface. The
current bird flu in the news is called avian influenza H5N1. There are no
known cases of H5N1 that have been transmitted from human to human. As
of January 7, 2006, more than 140 human cases have been reported in
Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and most recently, several
cases in Turkey. How
is avian flu transmitted? Avian
influenza is highly contagious among birds and can make some domesticated
birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick and kill them.
Infected birds pass the influenza virus through their saliva, nasal
secretions, and feces, so susceptible birds become infected when they have
contact with contaminated secretions or excretions. So
far, the transmission of H5N1 virus from person to person has been limited
and has not continued beyond one person. Nonetheless, because all
influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned
that the H5N1 virus will one day be able to infect humans and spread
easily from one person to another. Because these viruses do not commonly
infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the
human population. If H5N1 virus were to gain the capacity to spread easily
from person to person, a worldwide pandemic could begin. What
are the symptoms of avian flu? The
reported symptoms of avian influenza in humans range from typical flu-like
symptoms (e.g., fever, cough, sore throat, and muscle aches) to eye
infections (conjunctivitis), pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral
pneumonia, and other severe and life-threatening complications. Unlike
seasonal influenza, in which infection usually causes only mild
respiratory symptoms in most people, avian flu infection may follow an
unusually aggressive clinical course, with rapid deterioration (1-3 days),
and high fatality. Primary viral pneumonia and multi-organ failure have
been common among people who have become ill with avian influenza. Four
different influenza antiviral drugs (Amantadine, Rimantadine, Oseltamivir,
and Zanamivir) are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
for the treatment of influenza. However, influenza strains can become
resistant to these drugs, and therefore the drugs may not always be
effective. The current Avian virus H5N1 that has caused human illness and
death in Asia is resistant to Amantadine and Rimantadine but Oseltamavir
and Zanamavir would probably work (Additional studies still need to be
done to demonstrate their effectiveness.). Although
Avian influenza A viruses usually do not infect humans, more than 200
confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza viruses have been
reported since 1997. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) maintains records on avian influenza A (H5N1). Most
cases of avian influenza infection in humans are thought to have resulted
from direct contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces. Because of concerns about the potential for more widespread infection in the human population, public health authorities closely monitor outbreaks of human illness associated with avian influenza. To date, human infections with avian influenza A viruses detected since 1997 have not resulted in sustained human-to-human transmission. However, because influenza A viruses have the potential to change and gain the ability to be transmitted easily between people, monitoring for human infection and person-to-person transmission is important. Information adapted from Lysol [http://www.lysol.com/avian_flu/] and the CDC [http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/].
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____________________________________________________________RBI: Rural Biomedical Initiative
Rural
Biomedical Initiative (RBI) is
an endeavor to infuse the components of Base Pair and SOAR into a
typical rural school science curriculum as a means to acclimate rural
students to the vast opportunities offered within medical and scientific
domains. Puckett Attendance
Center is the first rural school in the state of Mississippi to offer
Biomedical Research as a part of their existing science curriculum. Murrah High School, the first urban school offering
biomedical research, will serve as a model for this new initiative.
Through collaboration with Base Pair, Puckett students have
been introduced to new and innovative teaching methodology.
These students consider this methodology “invigorating.” Student
responses: “I hope this class will further develop my knowledge base as
I journey to a Ph.D. in psychology.”—Adam McCrary “I am very excited about this class being offered at
Puckett. I truly believe we
will all benefit from it.”—Kayla Hawkins “I have never been in a class that is so beneficial.
There are so many hands-on activities and investigations.
I am so happy our class is the first to experience biomedical
research.”—Pamela Burkett
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| ________________________________________________________________unitedstreaming
Last
school year, we were excited to share information with you about Digital
Curriculum, an on-demand video resource made
available to Mississippi K-12 teachers and students courtesy of
Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Digital
Curriculum has since merged with Discovery Education's unitedstreaming. unitedstreaming
offers the same great educational videos and resources and can be accessed
at the following site: unitedstreaming
offers a new resource - its professional development center. The site
features two tools - teaching tips and project demonstrations. Project
demonstrations will inspire you to integrate unitedstreaming content
into your classroom with: To
go even further with unitedstreaming and explore resources and community
tools for educators,
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______________________________________________________________________
In the News
Graduate Receives Honors Scholarship
Antoinette Dawson, a 2006
graduate of Murrah High School, is one of 62 Mississippi high school
seniors to be awarded a Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship. More than 2,000
students applied for the scholarship. She
will receive $1,500 annually for up to four years. The award, which is
named for the longtime West Virginia legislator, is designed to recognize
students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement. Selection
criteria include standardized test scores, grade point average,
participation in extracurricular and leadership activities, and honors and
awards. The scholarship program is administered through the Mississippi
Department of Education's Scholastic Development Office.
________________________________________________________________Base Pair Update | |
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Plans
for 2006-2007 Plans
for 2006-2007
“This
year, Dr. Lyons and I will be working on comparing out-of-clinic
interventions for PTSD related caregiver burden as well as developing
presentations and articles from my summer literature review of
interventions for PTSD caregiver burden.” “This
year, Dr. McDaniel and I will compare the polymorphisms of patients in
relation to health disparities.” “This
year, we will be immunizing rabbits with a pneumococcal toxin and then
challenging their corneas with pneumococci to determine whether
immunization protects their corneas from infection.” “This
year's research will focus on tissue transglutaminase dependent and
independent interaction of calcium binding protein calbindin D-28K with
ataxin-1 in an attempt to gain a further insight into the initiating
events leading to the pathological sequence of the progressive
degeneration of selective neurons within the cerebellum, spinal tracts,
and brain stem. These events leave affected individuals with loss of
balance and coordination, which in turn progresses to a devastating class
of neurodegenerative disorders collectively known as spinocerebellar
ataxias.” “We
are working to analyze inflammatory response in the kidney, by quantifying
the infiltration of inflammatory cells such as macrophages, lymphocytes,
plasma cells, and eosinphils.
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____________________Student Oriented Academic Research Program: SOAR News | |
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Callaway High School
This
is Callaway's first year in the SOAR Program. Guided by the direction Most
of the 2006 SOAR class has future aspirations in the medical and Look
for big and great things from these students in the near future!
Jim Hill
My
Experiences in the SOAR Program Being
a SOAR student opened the door to a lot of great experiences in learning.
Last school year, I learned so much and had so much fun. My classmates and
I learned to solve crimes, complete labs, and even tell the difference
between the various types of blood spatters left at a murder scene. Not
only did we have fun inside class but also outside class.
Provine Led by teacher Tammy Cox, SOAR students stay busy in the school computer lab:
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| __________________________________________________________________About
Base Pair
Base
Pair, initiated in 1992, is a successful biomedical research mentorship
program that pairs faculty from the Funded
through 2007 by the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the
largest private supporter of science curriculum development activities and participation in web-based mentoring groups, the positive educational impact of the program has reached literally hundreds more. Some 116 published scientific abstracts and presentations have been co-authored or delivered by Base Pair students, with an additional 18 citations and 38 presentations attributed to teacher participants. R.W. Rockhold, Ph.D.
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