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Saturday, Jun. 16, 2012 by Laura Peters | 0 comments | Email this story

Times-Mirror StaffPhoto/Beverly DennyKiran Kaur, 15, ofPotomac Falls HighSchool, right, andShahrozia Imtiaz, 15, ofLoudoun County HighSchool, listen during alesson by Dr. ArthurHarralson about geneticsand cellular biology duringthe Go Girls Camp atGeorge WashingtonUniversitys Ashburncampus June 14.

Although school ended more than a week ago, 16 teenage girls are in the labs of GeorgeWashington Universitys campus in Ashburn learning a bout their DNA.

GWUs camp Go Girl, which stands for Genomic Opportunities for Girls in Research Labs, is afour-day camp provided for rising sophomores, juniors and seniors in Loudoun County PublicSchools. The camps focuses on providing a hands-on experience in molecular biology andgenomics

The whole goal of the camp is to get the girls introduced into research, science. These are funsimple experiments to give you a very broad look into the field of molecular biology, KatieLemming, pharmacy student at GWU and Shenandoah University said. I know from myexperience in high school it was kind of like, I didnt know anything sit here and figure it outon your own. The camp gives the girls a great opportunity to meet with a lot of great peoplefrom all different backgrounds and what they actually do every day.

Now in its fourth year and sixth camp, Go Girl has more than 80 applications for this yearscamp, according to Dr. Nancy Skacel, professor of genetics and cellular molecular biology atGWU.

The demand is there and the interest is there and the students are amazing, she said.

The camp holds 16 students for four days. Any student who participates can only participateonce, Skacel said.

Times-Mirror StaffPhoto/Beverly Denny Dr.Arthur Harralson,Associate Dean ofResearch at ShenandoahUniversity, gives a lessonabout genetics andcellular biology during theGo Girls Camp at GeorgeWashington UniversitysAshburn campus June14.

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All-girl camp empowers teen minds into the world of science

7/31/2019 All-Girl Camp Empowers Teen Minds Into the World of Science _ LoudounTimes

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6/12 All-girl camp empowers teen minds into the world of science | LoudounTimes.com

udountimes.com/index.php//all-girl_camp_empowers_teen_minds_into_the_world_of_science123/

We wish it was longer, its so interesting. You dont get to learn this type of thing in school,Sofia Melo, 15, rising junior at Broad Run High School said. You dont really learn in-depth and

you dont really get to see it in your face what it is, she said about how biology class in highschool doesnt offer as much of a hands-on experience as this camp does.

Melo said that in her high school classes students dont get a lot of hands-on lab experience liketheyve experienced in the camp.

Actually seeing it makes you understand it that much better, she said. It makes me thatmuch more interested in a science field.

The camp has a variety of different professors from GWU and Shenandoah University, whopartner together for their pharmacy program, along with pharmacy students who act as aidsduring the labs.

Times-Mirror StaffPhoto/Beverly DennyAbigail Nelson, 16, ofPotomac Falls HighSchool, listens during alesson by Dr. ArthurHarralson about geneticsand cellular biology duringthe Go Girls Camp atGeorge WashingtonUniversitys Ashburncampus June 14.

Its good for us because were learning to be mentors. They get to look at people within the sameage range, theyre like wow, theyre only five years older than me and they get to do all this funstuff every day, maybe I want to do that, Lemming said.

Part of the experiments they work is with E. coli. They create dazzling hues where the proteinsof the bacteria are painted with a fluorescent gel to show the inner workings of the cells. Theexperiment is used to explore gene expression and genetic modifications of organisms.

Times-Mirror StaffPhoto/Beverly Denny Petridishes display the artwork Go Girls Campparticipants made bypainting a safe strain of E.coli bacteria proteins withfluorescent gel.

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7/31/2019 All-Girl Camp Empowers Teen Minds Into the World of Science _ LoudounTimes

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6/12 All-girl camp empowers teen minds into the world of science | LoudounTimes.com

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They even swab their cheeks to get their DNA and line the strands to compare to each other.

Its really good exposure to them early. A lot of them are rising juniors and seniors. When Igraduated high school I didnt know what I wanted to do. They get a lot of advice from us, PujaShah, pharmacy student at GWU and Shenandoah University said. It gets rid of the stereotypefrom other people who say research is like this. They get a hands-on experience and they areable to make their own opinions about it.

On the last day of the camp, the students learned about genes and genetic fingerprinting andhow it relates to tasting bitterness. According to the experiment, some vegetables contain certainamounts of the bitter compound called phenylthiocarbamide and each persons genetic make-up affects the way they taste the compound.

During their lunch breaks, students received lectures from women in the health sciences field,including pharmacists, physicians, nurses, physician assistants and physical therapists.

To learn more about Go Girl, visit gwumc.edu/healthsci/goGirl.

Times-Mirror StaffPhoto/Beverly Denny Dr.Arthur Harralson,Associate Dean ofResearch at ShenandoahUniversity, gives a lessonabout genetics andcellular biology during theGo Girls Camp at GeorgeWashington University'sAshburn campus June14.

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