UW Bioengineering Summer Camp 2014 for high school students wrapped up on Friday, July 25. Over the course of one week, 24 high school students learned about the field of bioengineering and ways the field is solving global health problems.

UW BioE Lecturer and lead instructor of the camp Dr. Dianne Hendricks presented lessons that introduced the students to global health, molecular biology fundamentals and biology of infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis.

Many other UW BioE faculty and students taught the students about the broad range of bioengineering research. Lecturer Dr. Alyssa Taylor presented a lesson entitled “What is Bioengineering?”. Assistant Professor Dr. Kim Woodrow and members of her lab taught the students about the prevalence of the HIV virus, and led activities to teach virus mechanics/action as well as drug delivery strategies for HIV prevention and treatment. Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Ratner taught the students about ultrasound devices and techniques, while Research Assistant Professor Dr. Barry Lutz and his lab members led a module on disease diagnostics for global health. The students toured Dr. Suzie Pun’s lab. Recent UW Bioengineering alumnus (B.S., 2014) Ross Jones taught a module on synthetic biology.

The students had the opportunity to talk with faculty and students at lunch breaks about their research, their experience in college and what inspired them to become bioengineers.

The students went on a field trip to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Visitor Center, where they learned about the Foundation’s support for biomedical devices and diagnostic tools.

The camp concluded with student presentations and a parents’ reception. The students, in groups of 4 to 5, delivered presentations in which they proposed bioengineering innovations with global health applications. The presentations took place in BioE’s Wallace H. Coulter Seminar Room, which was packed full with the students’ parents and family members, as well as UW BioE faculty, staff and students.

UW BioE thanks the following list of faculty, staff and students who contributed their time to making the 2014 UW Bioengineering Summer Camp a success.

Dianne Hendricks – Lead Instructor
Lucy Pick – Summer Camp Director
Ross Jones – Summer Camp Assistant
Dan Ratner – Faculty Advisor

Faculty Guests:
Alyssa Taylor
Suzie Pun
Kim Woodrow
Barry Lutz

Staff Assistance:
Kelli Jayn Nichols (Academic Services Director)
Josh Lee (Academic Counselor)
Rick Edmark (Woodrow Lab manager)
Arielle Steger (Woodrow Lab)

Student Activity Assistants:
Anna Blakney (Woodrow Lab)
Emily Krogstad (Woodrow Lab)
Will Lykins (Woodrow Lab)
Joe Phan (Woodrow Lab)
Renuka Ramanthan (Woodrow Lab)
Rahil Jain (Lutz Lab)
Ian Andrews (Lutz Lab)