Assistant Professor Patricia Santos works on experiments with Hug High students. Salvador Herrera
University faculty and students from the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources conducted a weeklong biotechnology lab at Hug High School — broadening students’ knowledge, boosting their confidence and exposing them to careers in science.
New director of the biotechnology department and teaching assistant professor Karla Hernández ’10, ’10 M.S. (biotechnology), ’15 Ph.D. (cell and molecular biology) introduced Patricia Santos, an assistant professor in the biochemistry and molecular biology department, to Hug biology teacher Ana Herrera ’02 (biology), ’07 M.Ed. (secondary education), ’12 M.Ed. (educational leadership) to develop the curriculum and teach the lab. Santos brought students from her classes to help teach the nearly 40 students in Herrera’s two Advanced Placement biology classes.
“My students were delighted by the experience,” Santos said. “I brought in a very diverse group on purpose, so the high schoolers could see potential examples of themselves.”
“As a teacher, my biggest goal is to expose students to different fields of science they may have never seen before,” Herrera said. “I remember being in college and walking into the lab and it being intimidating for me. I was super nervous. So, I’m happy that we get to give my students this experience and instill some confidence before they go to college.”
Using potatoes and a research technique called CRISPR that edits and modifies genomes without leaving traces of anything foreign, the students gained greater understanding of the difference between genetically modified and genetically engineered organisms. Santos said the project also demonstrated how biotechnology can help farmers. “The U.S. potato industry is $4 billion per year, and about a third of that money is lost during storage. With CRISPR-additive potatoes, they can last longer.”
Santos chose to work with CRISPR because it was engineered by the first two female scientists to win the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2020 — Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier. Since then, the two have become touchstones for young women considering scientific work.
You can read more about the biotechnology lab by scanning the QR code below.