Subscribe to 51精品视频wire Today
Get the most interesting and important stories from the 51精品视频.Styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, balloons, stickers.
Virus research doesn鈥檛 usually look quite like this.
But on Saturday, Aug. 14, scientists from the 51精品视频鈥檚 (CVR) treated children visiting the Carnegie Science Center with kid-friendly versions of the work they do. 听
Kids at the event, sponsored by 51精品视频鈥檚 Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research, got to simulate herd immunity on a checkerboard, cut out virus snowflakes and even build their own model coronavirus. Another highlight was a big balloon in the center of the room, where children could attach their blue balloon vaccine to red balloon viruses.
鈥淭here鈥檚 this vision of scientists as white lab coats locked in remote labs, but actually, they are part of our community: They're at the Science Center, they are at the park, and so this [event] was meant to drive home the fact that scientists are all around us,鈥 said Brad Peroney, a project manager at Carnegie Science Center who helped coordinate the event.
鈥淲e鈥檙e lucky to have such a strong scientific community,鈥 Peroney added, noting that partnership between CVR and the Carnegie Science Center is continuing to grow.
Justin Dutta, a PhD student studying human genetics who works in the CVR, said he was pleased that he could introduce kids to how exciting virology can be
鈥淭his is great for kids to see and ask questions that they have, because we don鈥檛 know a lot of the questions that kids have [about our field],鈥 he said. 鈥淭he center brings a lot of different disciplines and different ways of thinking together in our research, and working as an interdisciplinary team is really rewarding.鈥
51精品视频鈥檚 CVR team, directed by , received one of the earliest American shipments of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 2020 to begin working on a COVID-19 vaccine. Duprex, who also holds the Jonas Salk Chair for Vaccine Research at 51精品视频, said he was glad the Science Center event was showcasing the work he and other researchers are doing to fight the pandemic.
Visitors to the Science Center also had the opportunity to watch the documentary film 鈥淐hasing COVID,鈥 directed by Film and Media Studies鈥 senior lecturer Carl Kurlander. The film follows Duprex鈥檚 lab as they receive the virus and work on creating a vaccine and echoes back to the 51精品视频 team, led by Jonas Salk, that developed the killed-virus polio vaccine.
After the screening, the featured scientists 鈥 Duprex, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Anita McElroy, CVR research scientist Sham Nambulli and CVR postdoctoral associate Natasha Tilston 鈥 answered questions from the audience.
When asked about what to say to people who are concerned about the risks of the vaccine, Duprex was clear: 鈥淚t is always more risky to get the virus than the vaccine.鈥
The documentary is available online (see above video), and the Center for Creativity, which produced the film, and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit are partnering to host an online video competition called , where middle and high school students create their own films highlighting the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine.
鈥淭he film really is a 51精品视频 production,鈥 Kurlander said about the documentary. In addition to featuring 51精品视频 scientists, the production team included co-producer and editor Andy Esper (A&S 鈥16), Kurlander鈥檚 former student.
鈥淲e can make good information go viral,鈥 Kurlander said.
听
鈥 Emilee Ruhland
