Teachers & Students
The world of biomedical research is ever-changing, and ever-fascinating. MSMR helps teachers and students connect with that world, through no-fee MSMR memberships for high schools, our monthly What A Year! series, our annual Student Competition, and on-line supplementary materials for middle and high school teachers. We can also often help out with career day speakers and with teacher invitations to some of our professional development workshops.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, MSMR launched a new program as part of our mission to help educate the next generation of biomedical research professionals. Former MSMR board member Lisa Garrett, then a teacher at Norfolk County Agricultural High School, worked with MSMR Vice President Lynne Walsh, and in cooperation with the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Comparative Medicine, on a “virtual” internship program for high school students, featuring five-day lab animal management classes and interactive discussions on topics ranging from bioethics to lab animal enrichment. One of the students in that program, Tyler Bonin, wrote an essay in response to a magazine article about how “The Rising Status of Cats and Dogs Could Doom Biomedical Research.” He concluded: “When looking at the entire picture, we are animals too. We have evolved to be able to solve complex problems, use tools, and develop systems to
help our survival. Animal research is a part of that too, as we have developed systems to save
lives and ecosystems, all thanks to our willingness to make sacrifices to help more animals in the
future.” Read Tyler’s full essay here.
Stay tuned to MSMR as we look to build on this program in the coming weeks and months.