Scientific Research Students Sequence DNA
Scientific Research Students Sequence DNA
Dr. Todd Haney and his students recently returned from a trip to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County where they met with researchers, toured collections behind the scenes, and visited public exhibits. There was good reason for the trip; the students needed to meet their new colleagues. In recent years, the Science Department has offered an upper-level course called Scientific Research, geared toward broad-ranging discussions of the scientific process. This year’s curriculum includes work known as “DNA barcoding,” whereby students sequence DNA from select genes of specimens from coastal waters of southern California and then contribute the data to the scientific community at large via the Barcode of Life Database.
This project recently gained momentum with a grant of $25,000 from the California Coastal Commission. Dr. Haney, along with museum-based colleagues Drs. Regina Wetzer and Dean Pentcheff, had submitted the proposal to the Whale Tail Grants program in order to support the students’ research and citizen science related to the project, now a more formal, long-term collaboration between Sage Hill School and the Museum. After training in Sage Hill’s Lisa Argyros and Family Science Center and with resources in hand, our students are poised to make considerable additions to the knowledge of local marine biodiversity.
Despite Dr. Haney’s admitted bias toward study of the ocean realm, there is still more to the student experience in the class. In addition to the endeavors described above, each student in the course heads to off-campus research settings, ranging from UCI to the Irvine-based company Edwards Lifesciences, where professional scientists graciously share their time, technical insights and passion for scientific discovery. The overarching idea: students can and should get their hands wet early by jumping into authentic research experiences.
Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.