Media Advisory: UB workshop trains high school teachers in genetics research

BUFFALO, N.Y. –The University at Buffalo is sponsoring a genetics workshop for 31 high school teachers from area school districts this week to provide them with the new classroom tools needed to teach their students the rich history, complexity and excitement of the world of genetics and genomics.

Participants are training with scientists from the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The program, part of a three-year effort funded by the National Science Foundation, runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily through July 11 in 231 and 244 Cary Hall on the UB South Campus.

Led by Stephen Koury, PhD, research assistant professor in biotechnical and clinical laboratory sciences at UB, participating teachers are from school districts in Buffalo (public and charter schools), Cleveland Hill, Letchworth, Albion, Attica, Warsaw, Pioneer and Newark, N.Y.

The current generation of high school students will come of age in an era in which personal genetic information is increasingly used in health care. So it is of vital importance that they understand the genetic concepts necessary to make informed medical decisions. They also need this information to confront personal, social and ethical challenges that lie ahead in this area, and consider further education in the field.

“The teachers are working with computer modules and there is a lot of teacher-faculty interaction,” Koury says. “They are learning about gene annotation, lesson plan development and how to work with the NCBI – the National Center for Biotechnology Information – to use a range of new algorithmic programs to sequence genes, a process that was once very time consuming, and much more.”

Press arrangements onsite: Stephen Koury, UB research assistant professor in biotechnical and clinical laboratory sciences, at 716-440-9038.