Cold Spring Harbor Lab (CSHL), on Northern Boulevard between Oyster Bay and Cold Spring Harbor, is a community of about 1,100 scientific, academic, administrative and support staff working together to fulfill the laboratory’s research and education missions. It is one of the most advanced medical research facilities in the world with a focus on cancer, neuroscience, plant genetics, genomics and quantitative biology.
On a recent behind the scenes tour, two young researchers and scientists revealed their work up close to this reporter. They were French neuroscientist Paul Masset and German cancer researcher Anja Hohmann. Both Masset and Hohmann are enrolled in the Watson School of Biological Sciences.
During the tour, Masset showed a behavior exhibit on rats and how decisions are made. Hohmann discussed her research on leukemia and then took out a petri dish with blood cells. It was an amazing experience to see what a blood cell looks like under a microscope for the first time.
As science plays an increasingly important role in society, there is a need for biologists to educate nonscientists of all ages about biology. As part of their graduate experience, Masset and Hohmann teach laboratory courses to Long Island middle and high school students through CSHL’s Dolan DNA Learning Center. From these teaching experiences, graduate students learn how to communicate with non-biologists and to inspire and educate creative young minds. Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District and St. Dominic’s both have long participated in these programs.
In addition, Rachel Wesley of Oyster Bay High School participated in CSHL’s Partner for the Future Program. She is one of a select group of seniors from Long Island who spend a minimum of 10 hours per week, September through March of their senior year, doing original research under the watchful eye of a scientist mentor. While the students learn a great deal about molecular biology and research techniques, the main advantage of the program to expose the students in the day-to-day life in a working lab.
“Debunking the mythical scientist-in-a-labcoat image, Rachel was introduced to a world of relatively young scientists and their interactive support staff in a relaxed, problem-solving atmosphere,” said lab scientist Charlie Prizzi.
For more information on the laboratory, visit www.cshl.edu.
