Columbia University Systems Biology Initiative
High School Workshop Series
Teaching and Community Outreach
Each year, Columbia SBI hosts a free workshop series that is a part of our High School Synthetic Biology Workshop Series, where students learn the critical techniques used within synthetic biology, the theoretical basis of these techniques and synthetic biology as a whole, and the frontiers of current research in the field. Synthetic Biology is a broad field that encompasses the engineering of new biological mechanisms that currently do not exist or the re-designing of biological mechanisms for a synthetic purpose. We experienced a revolution with the discovery of engineering small molecules for applications such as therapeutic and material development, but now, with synthetic biology, we have something infinitely more powerful. We can now engineer entire organisms. The great potential and vast applications are already beginning to unfold in fields such as medicine, industry, and bioelectronics. Research includes engineering bacteria to produce cancer-specific oncogene treatment, creating a mosquito repellent made from harmless bacteria, utilizing bacteria to purify water that is polluted with heavy metals and generate electricity in the purification process, designing bacteriophages to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and using CRISPR to make a cheap, accurate detection system for different kinds of infectious disease.
We are delighted to offer another synthetic biology workshop for high school students this spring in a virtual format. This 5 week long workshop will give high school students premier access to the newly-founded and rapidly expanding field of synthetic biology. The workshop will cover four special interest topics in synthetic biology research including tissue engineering and organogenesis, applications of CRISPR technology, neurobiology, and genomics and data privacy, and will conclude with a lesson in the foundations of scientific project design. The goal of these workshops is to afford students an in-depth look into the exciting areas of current synbio research, and prepare them with the correct tools to be able to design their own research projects in the future!
This spring, the Synthetic Biology Workshop Series will be held in a fully remote format. Lessons will be delivered live through the Systems Biology Initiative's zoom account on Sundays from 2:00-4:00pm. Please note that in order to participate in the workshop series, students will need to make a free zoom account.
The spring 2022 application for this program can be accessed at https://forms.gle/XYoB2t3ZwL29FMr37.
The deadline for the application is Friday, March 4th, 2022. Please note that successful registration requires the completion of the application and the email submission of the forms linked in the application, which are also due on March 4th. These forms are also available at the bottom of this page. Please download them and email a signed copy to cu.syn.bio.initiative@gmail.com.
The syllabus for the spring 2022 workshop series is:
3/6/2022 - Tissue Engineering and Synthetic Organogenesis
3/13/2022 - Neurobiology
3/27/2022 - Genomics and Data Privacy
4/3/2022 - Applications of CRISPR Technology
4/10/2022 - Foundations of Scientific Project Design
Please note that we are not affiliated with Columbia University Admissions. Please understand that participating in this workshop does not affect your chances of being admitted to Columbia.
General Waiver Form:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1J4npj1k3gfOJCZj6uszmSPJx5XchKiq3-AwL6zVWXtM/edit?usp=sharing
Media Release Waiver:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mH0i1q7oH8j4UCwH4uXl-KG76P-X4XTd8YjBNeKftsA/edit?usp=sharing
Please feel free to contact us for any questions at cu.syn.bio.initiative@gmail.com!
Contact email for participating in high school workshops and to subscribe to our mailing list for high school programs only: cu.syn.bio.initiative@gmail.com
Contact email for teaching in the high school workshops and about the club generally: sbi.columbia@gmail.com
The subscribe links on this website are for the Systems Biology Initiative club in general, used among Columbia University students. For all inquiries about participating in high school workshops and to subscribe to our mailing list of high school programs, please directly email us at cu.syn.bio.initiative@gmail.com (not sbi.columbia@gmail.com). Thank you.
Join the Teaching Team!
(for Columbia University students)
Love Biology? Love teaching? Love research? Come join the teaching team!
It’s a fun way to get involved in teaching various student-led workshops on biology. We teach high school students the frontiers of research and foundations of synthetic biology, which can include biochemistry, microbiology, molecular biology, cell biology, developmental biology, physiology, genetic engineering, and biomedical engineering.
Your involvement in the teaching team can be as low-commitment or high-commitment as you would like, and you are free to determine your own hours. You also determine which areas you would like to teach, so as to follow your own passion. Lower commitment options include writing a few PSet questions for the students or giving a 15-30 minute lecture as a guest speaker about your research or research/theory/technique(s) that you are interested in. Higher commitment options include preparing slides and/or lesson plans and teaching for one hour or more. A group of two to four instructors teach each workshop session together, and teamwork and leadership are fostered. We will design and review lessons together, to become better educators by learning from each other and studying the art of teaching together.
We also offer the experience as an educational administrator through the Assistant Project Lead position. This is a noncompetitive position that incorporates the administrative tasks done to make these educational opportunities possible. Duties include writing advertisements and descriptions for the program, leading the review of lessons we teach and leading discussions on teaching improvement, creating registration forms and booking rooms, and establishing novel programs in the workshop series.
We have seen great demand, excitement, and engagement from high school students. Our current students have demonstrated delight in participating in the current workshop and strong interest in participating in more workshops in the future, based on our survey responses. To join the team or for any questions, please contact us at sbi.columbia@gmail.com.
Student Testimonials
Feedback from our former students:
“I like the fact that we can relate the methods learned in real world applications. The topics are genuinely interesting.”
“I am find [sic] the entire course to be absolutely fascinating especially in content and in the examples that students reference from their own experience”
“I like that this workshop covers topics beyond what is typically taught in school. I'm really learning a lot from it.”
“I really like the enthusiasm expressed by the students teaching the class. I also like the fact that we are learning both the ways a certain technique or biological process function and a way to apply these mechanisms into research. I especially enjoyed parts of the class when the leaders talked about their own research experience and projects.”
“I like how challenging the workshop is and how much more information it provides compared to a regular high school course.”
“The content that we go over is well over what we learn in high school or middle school. The environment is friendly and ready to learn.”
“I like that I'm learning interesting scientific material outside of my high school AP Biology class. I learned about the different engineering techniques briefly in school and the workshop gave me a more in depth, detailed description of the processes. I like learning about all the small details that my teacher skips over in class.”
“I like the thorough explanation provided during the presentations and the enthusiasm from each individual because they allow for me to focus better and retain an understanding of the subject. The topics we learn are also interesting since they give us an insight of the beginnings of genetic engineering.”
“I like the way the lectures are currently set up because it's easy to understand what I need to learn from a certain lesson.”
Important Note
The subscribe links on this website is for the Systems Biology Initiative club in general, used among Columbia University students. For all inquiries about participating in high school workshops and to subscribe to our mailing list of high school programs, please directly email us at cu.syn.bio.initiative@gmail.com (not sbi.columbia@gmail.com). Thank you.