(Posted July 22, 2002)

HUNTINGDON. Pa. -- Juniata College will host the 2002 Pennsylvania Governor's Institute for Life Science, where 100 elementary and secondary teachers will gain experience with new biology equipment, attend seminars by leading scientists and educators in Pennsylvania and nationwide and take part in workshops addressing the Pennsylvania academic standards for science and technology from July 28 to Aug. 3.

The PA Governor?s Institute for Life Science is one of 29 Pennsylvania Governor's Institutes and Academies held in 24 different areas across the state. Previously, the institute was held at Penn State's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The 100 teachers who attend the institute will receive two graduate credits.

"We are very excited the Governor's Institute is coming to Juniata because it recognizes us as one of the leaders in the state at providing hands-on science and teacher training," says Lorraine Mulfinger, assistant professor of chemistry and co-director of the institute.

The institute will offer lectures and workshops focused on the educational standards of Unifying Themes, Inquiry and Design and Technological Devices. Teachers also will be able to work with new equipment and processes that can be used in biology classes such as electrophoresis, physiology apparatus and electron microscopes.

The conference opens with registration at 1:45 p.m., Sunday, July 28 at Ellis College Center. At 7 p.m. there will be a keynote session in Alumni Hall in the Brumbaugh Science Center, "Nanotechnology and Nanofabrication" by Stephen Fonash, professor of engineering sciences at Penn State and director of the university's nanofabrication facility.

On Monday, July 29, educators can take workshops on spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance equipment at 8 a.m. in Brumbaugh Science Center. At 10 a.m., a workshop on DNA sequencing is scheduled. At 1:45 p.m. there will be a presentation on "Designing Your Project", led by Kip Bollinger, science education adviser for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, followed by a workshop on microscope technology at 3:15 p.m. At 7 p.m., there will be a presentation on " Trangenic Animals and Animals in Research" by Cindy McKinney, director of Penn State's Transgenic Mouse Facility, and Mary Kennett, director of Penn State's Laboratory Animals Research Center.

Tuesday, July 30 begins with a workshop on genetics and evolution at 8 a.m., followed by a workshop on biomechanics at 10:15. At 12:30 p.m. there will be a field trip to Penn State's Innovation Park and to area businesses. At 7 p.m., guest speaker Peter Johnson, a transplantation surgeon and CEO of Tissue Informatics in Pittsbugh, will talk on "Organ and Tissue Engineering."

The sessions on Wednesday, July 31, start with elective workshops at 8 and 10:15 a.m. At 1:45 p.m., Roy Hammerstedt, chief operating officer and founder of Biopore Inc. and professor emeritus of biochemistry at Penn State, will host a panel of industry leaders discussing "Educating a Workforce for Biotechnology." There is another elective workshop at 3:15 p.m., followed by the dinner presentation "Infectious Agents and Bioterrorism" by Bob Zimmerer, professor emeritus of biology at Juniata College at 7 p.m. in the Brumbaugh Science Center

The morning of Thursday, Aug. 1, is taken up by elective workshops at 8 and 10:15 a.m. At 1:45 p.m. Dominic Sisti, director of the University of Pennsylvania High School Bioethics Project, will talk on "Stem Cell Research and Bioethics," followed by another elective workshop at 3:15 p.m. After dinner, Song Tan, associate professor of biochemistry at Penn State, will present a talk on "Structure and Function of Gene Regulatory Complexes" at 7 p.m. at Alumni Hall.

The Institute wraps up Friday, Aug. 2, with a poster session from 8 to 10 a.m. At 11 a.m., the closing address will be presented in Alumni Hall by Neil Sharkey, associate professor of kinesiology and associate director of Penn State's Center for Locomotion Studies. His talk is titled "Recent Advances in Medicine Achieved Through Interdisciplinary Orthopedic Research."
For more information, visit the state's Web site at http://www.pagils.org, or call Lorraine Mulfinger at Juniata College at (814) 641-3718.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.