The UVA School of Medicine’s Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Chapter was excited to host another session of the 2023-2024 Discover Medicine program on Thursday, March 21. They welcomed 11 students from Monticello High School (MHS) to continue the longitudinal program committed to providing high school students in Charlottesville from underrepresented backgrounds exposure to the field of medicine through monthly, interactive activities focused on one of the body’s organ systems. The event continues our SNMA chapter’s collaboration with the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (BIMS) students to expand the participants’ exposure to biomedical sciences.
This session of the program focused on the cancer research being done in the Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Department. MHS students had lunch with current UVA graduate students before visiting four research labs for hands-on demos. Experiences included cell imaging through fluorescence microscopy and cell staining, learning different methods of plating cells onto agar, and running Western blot assays. These activities were followed by a presentation by UVA medical students.
SNMA and the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center are grateful to the many medical students, graduate students, attendings, researchers and faculty advisors who made the day a success. They in particular wish to thank Caroline Riedstra, Swetha Anandh, Jingwen Hu, Devin Roller, Yuang Sun, Elaina Ball, James Boehlke, Casey Bauchle, Christopher Pastore, Mary Broden, Isaiah Swann, Elia Namey, Arianna Lawerence, Niti Jadeja, PhD, Steven Rolland, PhD, Christos Baryiames, PhD, and Lucy Pemberton, PhD.
The final iterations of the Discover Medicine program is Renal System Day, April 30. SNMA also plans to host two “shadowing” days in the spring where students will be paired one-on-one with a clinical attending or academic researcher for shadowing opportunities. They are also coordinating a mentorship program between the high school students and UVA SNMA medical students and graduate students.
Please reach out to Discover Medicine Committee Chair, Misky Sharif if you are interested in assisting for any of the upcoming sessions.
Learn more through the Discover Medicine website and follow Discover Medicine’s Instagram: @discover_medicine_uva
Photo Credit: Christos Baryiames