Of Mice and Microbes: The Amazing Evolution of Scientific Supermodels

Whitehead Spring Lecture Series for High School Students
April 20-22, 2004

Some flew and some swam to greatness. Others earned accolades by being cheap and easy to house. One lucky critter wiggled all the way to a Nobel Prize. How? By becoming scientific supermodels. From mice to microbes, researchers now depend on a motley cast of characters to play the role of model system. By mimicking human diseases or recreating environments where scientists can study life’s basic biology, model organisms are used to investigate some of today’s hottest topics.

Join us for this year’s Whitehead Lecture Series for High School Students and learn more about how model systems have shaped modern biology. Speakers include Whitehead scientists Harvey Lodish, Hazel Sive, and Mark Daly. Students also will participate in break-out sessions on topics like cloning, stems cells, and prion disease, tour our laboratories, and have lunch with young Whitehead scientists.

The series will be held during spring vacation on Tuesday, April 20, Wednesday, April 21, and Thursday, April 22, from 9:30am-1:30pm. The lecture series is open to high school students ages 14 and over. Parental consent is required.

Program Presentations

Computer Supermodels: Understanding Model Systems with Bioinformatics
Using Mouse Genetics to Understand Human Disease (PowerPoint Presentation)
Why do Bacteriologists Study Bacteria, Yeasts, Worms, Flies and Mice (PowerPoint Presentation)

Last updated October 3, 2004.