20 NC Teachers Immerse in Marine Biotech Workshop
Posted: 06-26-2009 : WILMINGTON, N.C.

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Twenty science teachers from schools across North Carolina will be dipping their toes into saltwater and their minds into biotechnology next week at the first marine biotechnology workshop ever sponsored by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

It’s the first time in the Biotechnology Center’s 23-year history of providing summer teachers’ workshops that one of the sessions will focus on the vast potential of sea-dwelling organisms, or their components, to solve human problems.

For example, the work of scientists over many years has adapted proteins from glowing jellyfish to be used as tags for other molecules, enabling scientists to study in real time the movements, positions and interactions of protein molecules in living cells. This discovery earned the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for three U.S. scientists.

“This workshop gives otherwise experienced science teachers from across North Carolina access to one of the least-understood but potentially richest sources of biodiversity on the planet,” said Bill Schy, Ph.D., education and training program manager at the Biotechnology Center.

The instructors of this workshop include a master teacher and a former member of the research faculty of the University of North Carolina Wilmington. This workshop will follow marine biotechnology from exploration, to isolation and cultivation of useful organisms, to commercialization.

Participants will investigate specific examples of how marine biotechnology affects our environment, energy and health. The workshop will conclude with discussion and activities on conservation efforts to preserve ocean resources.

The workshop, to be held in the UNCW Center for Marine Science, will include lectures and discussions with experts in marine biotechnology, plus laboratory work and field exercises.

The four-day session will include a trip on the intra-coastal waterway aboard the UNCW research vessel, the R/V Cape Fear, and an excursion to Brunswick Community College’s Aquaculture Technology Program. Typical of the Biotechnology Center’s popular workshops, this session gives teachers paper exercises and ideas for inexpensive lab activities that require few classroom resources.

This summer, nine workshops are being held on community college and university campuses across the state. Last week, an introduction to biotech session was held for middle school teachers in Charlotte, while another at Alamance Community College helped advanced instructors learn to use microarrays, or “gene chip” technology, as a classroom teaching tool.

Other workshops include a specialized session on agricultural biotechnology as well as the usual introductory classes that help teachers expand science concepts using biotechnology examples that students find interesting and relevant.

The director of the marine biotechnology workshop is Sonja Pyott, Ph.D., a member of the biology research faculty at UNCW.

Master teachers assisting in the program are Zoe Welsh, a science teacher at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, and Tim Henkel, Ph.D., a marine biology faculty member.

The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation supported by the N.C. General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business, education and strategic policy statewide.

Contact: Chris Brodie, director of communications and media relations, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, chris_brodie@ncbiotech.org or 919-541-9366. Visit the Biotechnology Center's Web site at www.ncbiotech.org.

Participants:

• Alice Adams-Rudolph, of Winston-Salem, Forsyth Tech CC, aadams@forsythtech.edu
• Kimberly Etheridge, of Charlotte, Myers Park HS, kimberly.etheridge@cms.k12.nc.us
• Dori Hess, of Fayetteville, Cape Fear HS, sand2sno@yahoo.com
• Robert Howell, of Charlotte, Independence HS, robert.howell@cms.k12.nc.us
• Carrie Jones, of Raleigh, Middle Creek HS, ncscienceteacher@yahoo.com
• Lisa Korty, of McLeansville, Weaver Academy, kortyL@gcsnc.com
• Melanie Locklear, of Linden, E. E. Smith HS, melanielocklear@ccs.k12.nc.us
• Megan Mackiernan, of Forest City, East Rutherfod HS, mmackiernan@rcsnc.org
• John Macnair, of Charlotte, CMS, john.macnair@cms.k12.nc.us
• Rita Moffett, of Shalotte, Waccamaw School, surfmom@atmc.net
• Christine Mullins, of Mt. Ulla, West Rowan HS, mullinsch@rss.k12.nc.us
• Marilyn Pendley, of Newton, Maiden HS, marilyngar@hotmail.com
• Justyn Phelps, of Henderson, Northern Vance HS, jphelps@vcs.k12.nc.us
• David Pizzolato, of Asheville, TC Roberson HS, david.pizzolato@bcsemail.org
• Sharon Roseman, of Taylorsville, Concordia Christian Day, rosemanhomes@aol.com
• Claudia Salazar, of Maiden, Maiden HS, claudia_salazar@catawbaschools.net
• Frances Thomas, of Southport, Brunswick Christian Academy, frcate76@aim.com
• Tangela Wallace, of Winston-Salem, Dudley HS, wallact@gcsnc.com
• Lisa Wear, of Salisbury, Horizons Unlimited, wearlr@rss.k12.nc.us
• Anthony Williams, of Mt. Olive, Wayne Co. Public Schools, anthonywilliams@wcps.org