History of the BLAST Lab at Tucson Magnet High School

Origins of the BLAST lab

BLAST began in 2006 as part of an NSF grant to Dr. Nancy Moran. Under the broader impacts section of her grant, Dr. Moran proposed a molecular biology lab that would bring together researchers, high school teachers and students. Together, they would engage in an intense 2 ½ week research project in a course called Genes, Biotechnology and the Environment. The grant provided funding to purchase equipment and reagents to set up a functional molecular biology lab at Tucson Magnet High School under the direction of science teacher Margaret Wilch.


Impact on participants

Through the years, the program has provided 68 students from 18 public, private, and charter high schools across Arizona, with the opportunity to conduct real scientific research using state-of the art molecular biology methods and equipment. Many students who have participated have gone on to pursue bachelor’s degrees in the natural sciences. Click here to learn more about BLAST’s impact on students.

 

Previous research in the BLAST lab

In the last four years, students have undertaken a diverse set of research questions involving microbiology and symbiosis. These include examining the role of facultative symbionts in aphids, exploring honeybees for microbial symbionts, surveying wild hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) for symbionts, and examining antibiotic resistance in pristine and disturbed aquatic environments. For a more detailed look at previous courses, please click here.

 

Outreach opportunities

BLAST has provided graduate students the opportunity to engage in outreach projects in the community. PhD students from the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona have co-taught the course each year in conjunction with Dr. Moran and Margaret Wilch. This arrangement has allowed for graduate students to experience working with high school students, develop teaching and communication skills, and interact with engaged students.

BLAST has also relied on the participation of other UA researchers including the staff of the University of Arizona Genetics Core, Dr. Bob Smith of the department of entomology, Al Agellon of the Arizona Research Labs (ARL) and others.

Another goal of BLAST is to creat a conduit between University of Arizona researchers and high school students. The lab can support classes or individual students working on independent research in collaboration with faculty at the University of Arizona.


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