by John Watson
The Gladstone Institutes, a UCSF-affiliated medical research institute studying how to treat and prevent cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS and Alzheimer's disease, contributes to the local community through a wide variety of programs, collaborations and events.
Through its Student and Minority Outreach Committee, Gladstone is partnering with various local elementary schools to promote interest in science. In a unique pen pal program, 35 students from Junipero Serra Elementary School in San Francisco's Bernal Heights have been matched with Gladstone scientist pen pals. Last December, the pen pals met at the school for an afternoon of fun activities, and last March, the students came to Gladstone for a tour of the lab and hands-on activities with their pen pal partners.
Last year, scientists from Gladstone's Embryonic Stem Cell Laboratory played a key role in developing an exhibit featuring live mouse stem cells in the Microscope Imaging Station at the Exploratorium, a pioneer in displaying cutting-edge science in a museum setting. This interactive display allows visitors to witness the differentiation of live stem cells into beating heart muscle cells.
Gladstone volunteers have had the chance to see the stem cells and other exhibits while chaperoning students from Junipero Serra, which has a grant through the San Francisco Education Fund program that allows each class to go on two to three field trips to the Exploratorium. Gladstone volunteers accompany the youngsters as they explore hands-on science exhibits related to their classroom studies.
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Visitors to the Exploratorium in San Francisco view a stem cell exhibit of mouse heart cells and embryonic stem cells provided by Bruce Conklin, a Gladstone investigator and an associate professor at UCSF.
(c) The Exploratorium /Photo Credit, Kristina Yu.
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Last summer, Gladstone employees helped 450 high school students experience the science being conducted at the institutes as a module of the National Student Leadership Conference's (NSLC) Medicine and Health Care program, which exposes high school juniors to current issues in medicine and health. Over three 11-day sessions, 150 students per session spent the morning at Gladstone. Among the students were nine Gladstone scholars, recipients of scholarships allowing local women and minority students to take part in the program. This coming summer, Gladstone will increase those scholarships to 15.
Gladstone has recently become involved with the On-Ramp to Biotech training program, a project of SFWorks, a workforce development affiliate of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. This program trains local residents for biotechnology jobs through a partnership with City College of San Francisco (CCSF). Last year, trainee Ralph Kaan, one of the program's countless successes, worked in the laboratory of Gladstone's Fen-Biao Gao to fulfill the program's internship requirement. After completing the On-Ramp to Biotech program, he went on to be hired as a paid Gladstone student intern, and is now enrolled in CCSF's Biotech Certificate Program, as well.
With a talk about the latest in Alzheimer's disease research last March, Gladstone launched its "Science for Life" lecture series, designed to help the general public learn more about biomedical research topics. The next free lecture titled "Stem Cell Biology 101: An Introduction to the Science and Politics," will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7 in the Mahley Auditorium at the Gladstone building at 1650 Owens Street at Mission Bay.
Gladstone staff members regularly participate in charitable organization fundraising efforts - including AIDS Walk San Francisco, the Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk and the American Heart Association's Heart Walk - raising thousands of dollars each year for these worthy causes.
"Gladstone is proud of its history of community involvement and is committed to expanding its outreach programs in the years to come," says Dan Oshiro, Gladstone vice president for administrative affairs. "We want to make a difference in exciting kids about science careers and raising awareness on behalf of disease-fighting organizations throughout the greater Bay Area and beyond."
Links:
Gladstone Institutes
