Father Ryan in the Sciences
2
Under The Microscope: The Sciences at Father Ryan. As a relatively new member of the FRHS community with a son in the 2013 class (and 3 others likely to follow his lead!) I have been impressed by the incredible campus, the remarkable kids, and the everyday demonstration of Christ’s love in the dedicated, wonderful teaching staff. We have rejoiced and gathered as a community in the long awaited Jim Carell Alumni Athletic Complex. Perhaps overshadowed by this tremendous gift we might forget the other excellent resources available on campus. One close to my heart is the science program, I am a physician scientist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. As I have discovered, and hope to share with you via this newsletter, the science program at Father Ryan is incredibly strong and growing! Featured herein are incredible resources to which our children have access during their high school years. To keep these incredible opportunities and success stories going, we need your help. While financial support is always appreciated via the Annual Fund or directed giving, equally as important is the establishment of a network of health care professionals with whom we can place interested students during academic breaks. To help, please contact Brooke Reusch at Father Ryan at 615-269-7926 or [email protected] Robert F. Labadie, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Associate Professor of Bioengineering Tomorrow’s Scientists are Father Ryan Students Today From the earliest days of chemistry with Father Julius to the work with Mrs. Gray and Miss Patton to Father Ryan’s science teachers today, the study of the sciences has been an important part of the Father Ryan curriculum. Our students continue to excel in the natural sciences, bringing a curiosity and a love of laboratory work to these classes every day. The result is students who are better prepared for college work. They are given the chance to funnel their curiosity into studies of key scientific fields that can produce life changing discoveries, now and in the future. Under The Microscope gives you a look at what is happening in the field of science on this campus. Pioneering Equipment Reinforces Science Curriculum This past spring, Fotodyne Inc. loaned Father Ryan teacher, LauraLee Morin, molecular biology equipment, including a thermocycler, to use in conducting research in conjunction with Rutgers University. Several students participated in this independent research project. They conducted polymerase chain reactions (PCR) in the classroom which allowed them to isolate and amplify DNA from various duckweed samples. The amplified segments of DNA were then sent to Rutgers University for sequencing. The students later analyzed the sequences and saught to identify the protein structure and function of their DNA. This endeavor helped reinforce numerous topics within the current science curriculum dealing with replication, sequencing, biotechnology and genetics. With this exercise our children, as high school students, have the opportunity to learn how to perform this powerful technique that revolutionized molecular biology shortly after its discovery in 1983.
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Father Ryan in the Sciences
Transcript of Father Ryan in the Sciences
Under The Microscope: The Sciences at Father Ryan.
As a relatively new member of the FRHS community with a son in the 2013 class (and 3 others likely to follow his lead!) I have been impressed by the incredible campus,
the remarkable kids, and the everyday demonstration of Christ’s love in the dedicated, wonderful teaching staff. We have rejoiced and gathered as a community in the long awaited Jim Carell Alumni Athletic Complex. Perhaps overshadowed by this tremendous gift we might forget the other excellent resources available on campus. One close to my heart is the science program, I am a physician scientist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. As I have discovered, and hope to share with you via this newsletter, the science program at Father Ryan is incredibly strong and growing! Featured herein are incredible resources to which our children have access during their high school years.
To keep these incredible opportunities and success stories going, we need your help. While financial support is always appreciated via the Annual Fund or directed giving, equally as important is the establishment of a network of health care professionals with whom we can place interested students during academic breaks. To help, please contact Brooke Reusch at Father Ryan at 615-269-7926 or [email protected]
Robert F. Labadie, MD, PhDAssociate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck SurgeryAssociate Professor of Bioengineering
Tomorrow’s Scientists are Father Ryan Students TodayFrom the earliest days of chemistry with Father Julius to the work with Mrs. Gray and Miss Patton to Father Ryan’s science teachers today, the study of the sciences has been an important part of the Father Ryan curriculum. Our students continue to excel in the natural sciences, bringing a curiosity and a love of laboratory work to these classes every day. The result is students who are better prepared for college work. They are given the chance to funnel their curiosity into studies of key scientific fields that can produce life changing discoveries, now and in the future.
Under The Microscope gives you a look at what is happening in the field of science on this campus.
Pioneering Equipment Reinforces Science CurriculumThis past spring, Fotodyne Inc. loaned Father Ryan teacher, LauraLee Morin, molecular biology equipment, including a
thermocycler, to use in conducting research in conjunction with Rutgers University. Several students participated in this independent research project. They conducted polymerase chain reactions (PCR) in the classroom which allowed them to isolate and amplify DNA from various duckweed samples. The amplified segments of DNA were then sent to Rutgers University for sequencing. The students later analyzed the sequences and saught to identify the protein structure and function of their DNA. This endeavor helped reinforce numerous topics within the current science curriculum dealing with replication, sequencing, biotechnology and genetics. With this exercise our children, as high school students, have the opportunity to learn how to perform this powerful technique that revolutionized molecular biology shortly after its discovery in 1983.
The Sound of Summertime ScienceIn a familiar season and time for all 17-year-olds, the summer after Alex Eddie ‘11’s junior year meant work. What was different was the kind of work and where he did it.
Working in the lab of Father Ryan parent and board member Dr. Robert Labadie, Alex (shown above in the lab) got an introduction into otology—how we hear—and some remarkable work on new techniques for helping those with hearing loss hear again.
Cochlear implantation is the accepted method for restoration of hearing in people with sensorineural hearing loss. Through a delicate surgical procedure, the surgeon accesses the cochlea through the skull. At present, this requires the mastoid bone to be removed first. This step is obviously fairly invasive; the follow-on insertion of the implant is preceded by very precise drilling of the cochlear wall.
Alex worked with the multidisciplinary team of Vanderbilt researchers, including Drs. Labadie, Michael Fitzpatrick and Benoit Dawant, who have developed a process for simplification and semi-automation of this procedure. Clinical trials for this technology are currently supported by a NIH grant. Alex helped build the equipment necessary for making the frame for the drilling and helped craft a number of these frames.
A freshman at UT-Knoxville, Alex has his eye on a career in medicine, and this experience enabled him to tap his science preparation at Father Ryan and put it to work in a very practical way.
Bring out the White CoatAt a ceremony at Vanderbilt on August 12, Tyler Davis ’07 (left with parents Cindy and Bill Davis) received his white coat symbolizing the beginning of his medical school work at the University. A 2011 graduate of Notre Dame and a nationally accomplished tennis player, Tyler is now focused on the next stage of his career.
To make a gift to help support the sciences at Father Ryan, contact Brooke Reusch at 615-269-7926
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