Students learn a lesson on disease outbreak

Secondary school students learned how to analyse a simulated disease outbreak during a new interactive outreach programme that was developed by Carnegie Mellon. The programme aims to engage students through a laboratory experience, teach them lab techniques, and inform them about Carnegie Mellon''s new programmes in Biological Sciences and Computational Biology. Twenty-five students from 14 different schools across Qatar participated. Carnegie Mellon Qatar Assistant Teaching Professor of Biology Dr Kenneth Hovis, said, "The Student Biotechnology Explorer Program is part of the university’s recently launched biological sciences undergraduate program. It is designed to ignite a passion for biology among the youth in the community, give students first-hand lab experience while using cutting-edge lab techniques, as well as teach students how their bodies function at a biological level." "Through this programme, we hope high school students learn more about the biological sciences undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon and meet some of our current students and faculty," he added. Students who participated in the programme used a test called an ELISA (Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) to track a simulated disease outbreak as it spread through the community. During the experiment students worked in groups and were able to track the outbreak, determine who was infected and identify the source of the disease. Carnegie Mellon''s two recently-launched undergraduate degree programmes in biological sciences and computational biology are a collaborative effort with Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, with students receiving their degrees from Carnegie Mellon. (QNA) SSS/MD