In addition to our research work, we are committed to outreach in STEM education and expanding research opportunities to minorities and women in STEM. Aside from our current activities (below), we are open to new activities and partnering with other organizations. If you would like to discuss outreach with our lab, please contact Dr. Julie Champion directly.
Current Outreach Activities:
TEC Camp: Every year, we host a “drug delivery” and microbiology workshop as part of the Women in Engineering summer TEC Camp for middle school girls interested in technology, engineering, and computing. Through several activities in the lab, our student visitors learn how to grow bacteria from around the lab (and their shoes!) on petri dishes and complete a “drug particle” fabrication and release experiment using Elmer’s glue, powdered borax detergent, and food coloring. For those interested in hosting activities such as this in the future, you can find our worksheets and activity setup instructions here: TEC Camp Worksheets and Setup
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- Announcing instructions for TEC camp activities to a lab full of visiting middle school students.
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- Assisting in the “drug particle” fabrication activity.
Project ENGAGES: Through this program, we have welcomed several high school students to conduct research in our lab over the course of their junior and senior year of high school. The students are mentored by one of our PhD students and contribute meaningful research to support their mentor’s dissertations. Former ENGAGES students Ishatou Diambou (Class of 2017) and Esther Guice (Class of 2019) are now undergraduates studying BME at Georgia Tech. Our current ENGAGES student Alvin Stewart just finished his final research presentation after working on engineering of protein vesicles for the past two years.