It has become a rite of passage for STEM students at the Yeshiva University High School for Girls (Central): the annual visit to the Dolan DNA Learning Center. Over the past month, Central’s AP Biology course, taught by Science Department Chair and Science Institute Director Mrs. Ruth Fried, and Central’s Forensics class, taught by faculty member Mrs. Shulamith Biderman, visited the Dolan Center to put skills used in their home labs to the test in the outer world. During their first visit, students focused on gel electrophoresis, a technique in which DNA is placed on a gel surface and run through an electrical current to separate the DNA into distinct pieces according to size, granting specific, banded patterns that enable specialists to compare and contrast the DNA of different people. “For molecular biology, this tactic is as crucial to experimental research as the microscope is for general biology,” said Mrs. Fried. “The significance of this lab isn’t just that it’s fun – it gives students the confidence needed to use these tools to continue their work in molecular biology.”
Central’s Director of Technology, Mrs. Marci Karoll, who accompanied the students on their trip, reflected on the positive implications of this lab experience. “It was inspiring to see the students learning and exploring DNA in real time,” she said. “They were curious and engaged, and they got to use cutting-edge technology to see actual strands of DNA.”
The group also completed rounds of bacterial transformation, a procedure in which biologists insert new DNA into a bacteria, enabling that bacteria to produce new proteins that are copies of the new DNA – an essential part of DNA cloning. For this particular lab, the students inserted an antibiotic-resistant gene for ampicillin to develop transformed bacteria that could grow on an ampicillin-laced surface – but tagged with a green fluorescent protein gene from a jellyfish, so that their results literally glowed. The experience provided an exciting glimpse into the kinds of research biologists do every day. “Going to the lab was an invigorating experience,” said senior Hindel Granek. “I was able to see what I’ve learned in AP Biology play out in a professional lab setting. And being able to do this alongside graduate students was super cool and inspiring, as I hope to be in the same position they are one day.”
Recently, the group returned to the Center for a forensic DNA profiling lab in which they analyzed their own DNA, using their own cheek cells gathered from a saline mouthwash. The trip exemplifies what Central does so well – learning both inside and outside the classroom. “They’re doing hands-on work,” said Mrs. Biderman, “and so it brings what they’re learning in the classroom to life.” The students were enthusiastic to invest in this work: “Our trip to the Dolan DNA Learning Center was incredible,” offered senior Tiferet Tuchman. “I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to experience our Forensics lab in this way, because I have a newfound love and appreciation for the labs that we do. I left feeling accomplished, and I am excited to go back!”
