Biomedical Program Courses Overview

• Principles of the Biomedical Sciences• Human Body Systems• Medical Interventions• Biomedical Innovation – Senior Capstone

Principles of the Biomedical Sciences

Course Overview

• Students apply their knowledge and skills to answer questions or to solve problems related to the biomedical sciences.

• Students present the results of their work to an adult audience, which may include representatives from the local healthcare or business community or the school’s PLTW partnership team.

Course Overview

Course Overview

What caused the death of Anna Garcia?

• Students are presented with a mysterious death that they work to determine the cause of death.

• The units of the course then focus on the medical conditions presented in the autopsy.

Course Units

Unit 1: Human Body Systems

Unit 2: Heart Attack

Unit 3: Diabetes

• Introduction to basic inorganic chemistry and biochemistry

• Differences between type I and type II diabetes

• Introduction to cell regulation and metabolism

Unit 3: Diabetes

http://www.physicslessons.com/microlabsa.htm

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Unit 4: Sickle Cell Disease

• Introduction to inheritance of traits and bioinformatics

• Relationship between DNA sequence and protein structure

• Use of computer simulations to visualize structures and events too small to view with a microscope

Unit 4: Sickle Cell Disease

Unit 5: Hypercholesterolemia

• Introduction to inheritance of traits and bioinformatics

• Relationship between DNA sequence and protein structure

• Use of computer simulations to visualize structures and events too small to view with a microscope

Unit 5: Hypercholesterolemia

Unit 6: Infectious Diseases

• Instruction about differences between bacteria and viruses

• Instruction on ability of antibiotics to kill bacterial or inhibit bacterial growth

• Instruction on basic microbiological procedures, e.g. aseptic technique, inoculation of media, etc.

Unit 6: Infectious Diseases

Unit 7: Medical Interventions

• Instruction on direct relationship between technological advances and improvements in medical interventions

• Many different types of interventions are available for the same medical condition

Unit 7: Medical Interventions

Unit 8: Grant Proposal

• Open-ended project

• Students choose topic

• Instruct how to organize and write a grant proposal

• Consider having presentations made to partnership team or community members and parents

Human Body Systems

Course Overview

Course Overview

• The course focuses on how body systems work together to maintain homeostasis and good health.

• HBS takes a functional approach to traditional

anatomy and physiology concepts. Students learn how different systems of the body work together to complete tasks such as movement, protection, and communication.

Course Overview

• Students build organs, blood vessels, and nerves on Anatomy in Clay® skeletal manikens®. Unique identity becomes apparent with the addition of each body system.

• Exploring science in action, students work through interesting real-world cases and often play the role of biomedical professionals to solve medical mysteries.

Course Units

Unit 1: Identity

• Students investigate the body systems and functions that all humans have in common, and then look at differences in tissues, such as bone and muscle, and in molecules, such as DNA, to pinpoint unique identity .

Unit 2: Communication

• Students investigate modes of communication within the human body as well as ways humans communicate with the outside world.

Unit 3: Power

• Students investigate the human body systems that work to obtain, distribute, or process the body’s primary resources for energy – food, water, and oxygen.

Unit 4: Movement

• Students investigate the movement of the human body as well as the movement of substances around the body.

• Students combine their knowledge of power and movement to explore exercise physiology.

Unit 5: Protection

• Students explore ways in which the human body protects itself from injury or disease.

• Students examine the connections between all of the human body systems and examine how these systems work together to maintain health and homeostasis.

• Students begin to discuss and design medical interventions; the activities in this lesson serve as engagement for the subsequent course, Medical Interventions.

Unit 6: Homeostasis

Medical Interventions

Course Overview

Course Overview

• Students will be exposed to the variety of medical interventions involved in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease as they follow the lives of a fictitious family.

• The interventions will showcase the past, present, and future of biomedical science.

Course Overview

• Family case scenarios will address interventions related to:– Immunology– Surgery– Genetics– Pharmacology– Medical Devices– Diagnostics

• The course emphasizes preventative interventions as well as the important role scientific thinking and engineering design play in the development of interventions of the future.

Course Units

Unit 1: How to Fight Infection

• Students will follow college freshman Sue Smith through the diagnosis of a mystery infection, as well as through her treatment and follow-up care.

Unit 2: How to Screen What is in Your Genes

• Students will follow James and Judy Smith, a couple in their 40s who just learned they are expecting a child, and Gina and Aaron Smith, a young couple with a history of genetic disease who are contemplating starting a family, as they make decisions regarding genetic testing and screening.

Unit 3: How to Conquer Cancer

• Students will follow Mike Smith and his family through his battle with cancer.

Unit 4: How to Prevail When Organs Fail

• Students will follow Diana Jones through her battle with End Stage Renal Failure caused by Type 1 Diabetes.

Biomedical Innovation

Course Overview

Course Overview

• Students apply their knowledge and skills to answer questions or to solve problems related to the biomedical sciences.

• Students present the results of their work to an adult audience, which may include representatives from the local healthcare or business community or the school’s PLTW partnership team.

Course Overview

• Students will work through progressively challenging open-ended problems, addressing topics such as:– Clinical Medicine– Physiology– Biomedical Engineering– Public Health

Course Overview

• Students will play the role of an elite group of investigators dedicated to designing unique and innovative solutions to health challenges of the 21st century. – Students will be introduced to each problem through a

mission file that includes a case brief and mission statement. As students work through each mission, they will perform mission completion tasks.

Course Overview

• The course is designed to have a very flexible implementation• Teacher decides best way to address the needs, desires,

and resources of the students, teachers, and community.

• The course includes:• Five required problems• Two optional problems• Optional independent project

The Missions

BI Course Problems

• Design of an Effective Emergency Room• Exploring Human Physiology• Design of a Medical Innovation• Investigating Environmental Health• Combating a Public Health Issue• Independent Project (Optional)• Molecular Biology in Action (Optional)• Forensic Autopsy (Optional)

Problem 1: Design of an Effective Emergency Room

• Students analyze the workings of an emergency room, discuss inefficiencies that may hinder appropriate clinical care, and design a more efficient emergency medicine delivery system.– Students review research methods, practice effective

presentation skills, and learn project management techniques.

Problem #1 – Design of an Effective Emergency Room• Activity 1.1.1 – Mission: Innovation

– Students brainstorm unique solutions to the health and medical problems of this century.

• Activity 1.1.2 – Research and Documentation– Students complete a scavenger hunt as they explore online

research tools, consider the composition of research articles, review how to summarize and document credible sources, and review how to assess the integrity of information presented in Internet websites.

Problem #1 – Design of an Effective Emergency Room• Activity 1.1.3 – Effective Presentations

– Students analyze the strengths and weaknesses of slide design in a PowerPoint presentation and reflect on presentations they have given in the past to compile a list of the components of an effective presentation.

• Problem 1.1.4 – Emergency!– Students are introduced to project management, analyze the

workings of an emergency room, discuss inefficiencies, and work with a team to design and construct a model for a more efficient emergency medicine delivery system.

Problem #2: Exploring Human Physiology

• Students choose a question relating to one or more body systems that they are interested in studying and work to answer that question.– Students review and expand what they know about

experimental design, collection of data, statistical analysis of data, and the presentation of data.

Problem #2 – Exploring Human Physiology

• Project 2.1.1 – Scientific Research– Students investigate the variety of research study designs

available, learn how to evaluate which design is the most appropriate for the question being asked, and design a small study.

• Activity 2.1.2 – Science and the Media– Students investigate the various ways in which data can be

manipulated, explore what to look for when evaluating data presented by others, and critique science data presented in popular media as compared with science data presented in scientific journals.

Problem #2 – Exploring Human Physiology

• Activity 2.1.3 – Making Results Meaningful – Students learn how to statistically analyze data and use this

process to analyze the results of a scientific investigation.

• Problem 2.1.4 – Investigating Human Physiology– Students use data acquisition software and available sensors,

monitors, or probes, to find the answer to a question related to one or multiple body systems that students are interested in studying.

Problem #3: Design of a Medical Innovation

• Students propose a new or better medical device, pharmaceutical product, surgical procedure, or genetic intervention; build a prototype, model, or schematic of the intervention; and develop a marketing plan for the product.– Students review the design process, complete a

literature review, and further practice effective presentation skills.

Problem #3 – Design of a Medical Innovation

• Activity 3.1.1 – Evolution of a Product– Students investigate the evolution of various biomedical products

and brainstorm ideas for a new biomedical product or a way to improve an existing product.

• Activity 3.1.2 – Gathering the Facts – Students research and compile information about their chosen

problem, identified in the previous activity, and evaluate solutions of the past and present.

• Problem 3.1.3 – Design Innovations– Students explore possible design solutions, select the best

approach, and develop a design proposal. They showcase their design with a model, prototype, or schematic and create a marketing plan to pitch their product to potential investors.

Problem #4: Investigating Environmental Health

• Students explore how substances or chemicals in the environment impact human health. Students investigate exposure to these chemicals via inhalation, ingestion, and absorption through the skin. – Students assess environmental exposures in their own

lives, test local water samples for contaminants, and compiled information about environmental risk in their city or town.

Problem #4 – Investigating Environmental Health

• Activity 4.1.1 – Environmental Exposures– Students examine the day to day activities of a family

experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms and identify environmental health concerns and possible toxins linked to disease.

• Activity 4.1.2 – Analysis of Water Contamination– Students use a colorimetric coliform test as well as multiplex PCR

analysis to identify bacterial contaminants in water.

• Activity 4.1.3 – Testing the Waters– Students complete chemical tests to assess water quality and

investigate how chemical contaminants effect human health.

Problem #4 – Investigating Environmental Health

• Problem 4.1.4 – Dose Response– Students investigate the relationship between exposure and

development of disease and design an experiment to test the effects of a particular chemical and doses of that chemical on plant growth.

• Problem 4.1.5 – Environmental Health Community Profile– Students investigate potential sources of environmental

contamination in their community and assess risk and level of exposure to people, wildlife, and environmental resources. Students design an action plan to increase awareness, monitor resources or individuals in the community, improve conditions, and ensure a clean and safe environment.

Problem #5: Combating a Public Health Issue

• Students analyze data from a disease outbreak, generate a hypothesis by diagnosing patient symptoms, identify the disease pathogen, analyze an epidemiological study to test the hypothesis, and outline a plan for initiating control and prevention measures.

• Students identify a local, national, or public health crisis and write a mini-grant proposal outlining a plan with intervention strategies.– Students review evidence analysis, the design

process, methodology, and analyze study data to evaluate risk.

Problem #5 – Combating a Public Health Issue

• Project 5.1.1 – Disease Detectives– Students evaluate patient diagnostic test results to identify the

mystery illness, assess evidence to deduce the source of the illness, design and analyze an epidemiological study to test the proposed source, and plan control and prevention efforts to limit future cases of the mystery illness.

• Activity 5.1.2 – Public Health in the News– Students investigate major health issues in their local area, across

the United States, and around the globe; and evaluate the types of interventions that would address these health issues and begin to identify where they feel a comprehensive public health plan would have the greatest impact.

Problem #5 – Combating a Public Health Issue

• Problem 5.1.3 – Combating a Public Health Issue– Students design an intervention for a public health issue of their

choosing; develop a plan that focuses on the treatment, prevention, or education surrounding the chosen health issue; and present the plan in the form of a grant proposal.

Problem #6: Molecular Biology in Action (Optional)

• Students work through a protocol to construct and clone recombinant DNA.– Students perform DNA ligation and transformation,

as well as restriction analysis of the completed plasmid.

• Alternatively, students work through a more in-depth DNA cloning and sequencing project.– Students isolate plant DNA, perform a ligation and

transformation, purify a plasmid, submit DNA for sequencing, and present all work to GenBank for publication.

Problem #6 – Molecular Biology in Action (Optional)

• Activity 6.1.1 – Restriction Enzyme Challenge– Students analyze the result of specific digestion of both linear and

plasmid DNA and demonstrate how restriction analysis can be used to gauge the success of genetic engineering and gene cloning.

• Project 6.1.2 – Construction and Cloning of a Recombinant DNA– Students complete a cloning experiment and assemble a new

plasmid containing a resistance gene to the antibiotic kanamycin. The resulting recombinant molecule is introduced into bacterial cells where is copied and expressed. Students use restriction enzyme digestion and subsequent gel electrophoresis to analyze the results of their ligation.

Problem #6 – Molecular Biology in Action (Optional)

• Problem 6.1.3 – Cloning and Sequencing– Students complete a series of laboratory modules to clone and

sequence glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a gene involved in cellular respiration, in an uncharacterized plant species. Students are responsible for isolating and defining this specific gene sequence and use logic and their knowledge of bioinformatics to piece together this genetic code. Novel data can be submitted to the National Institutes of Health Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database, making the sequence data publically available in an international repository of genetic information.

Problem #7: Forensic Autopsy (Optional)

• Students evaluate body system changes upon death and examine a fetal pig using the same protocol as a human autopsy. Students design a fictional death scenario and case file.– Students draw on information they have learned in

the previous courses about human body systems to showcase the clues left behind in the body to tell the story of how the person died.

Problem #7 – Forensic Autopsy (Optional)

• Activity 7.1.1 – Forensic Autopsy– Students examine a fetal pig using the same protocol as a human

autopsy, including examination of the tissues, organs, systems, and body fluids; and note any abnormalities.

• Problem 7.1.2 – Determining Cause of Death– Students design a death and showcase the clues left behind in the

body to tell the story of how a person died. This person may have died of a rare disease, an accident, foul play, or a combination of factors. Students then solve the mystery that another group created.

Independent Project (Optional)

• Students work independently to determine an area of interest in the biomedical sciences, outline milestones in a long-term open-ended problem, and complete the outlined project.– Students complete a literature review, write and

carry-out the methodology for the project, analyze the results, make adjustments as needed, and present the results of their work to an adult audience.