UVA and the Department of Cell Biology are involved with several K-12 Partnership Activities with Local School Systems. These include the following programs:

Cardiovascular Exercises for AP Biology Classes from Monticello High School and Anatomy/Physiology classes from the Covenant School:

Faculty from the Department of Cell Biology have conducted a number of half-day, hands-on Cardiovascular activities for high school students using the existing facilities for teaching medical students as well as core facilities in the School of Medicine. This exercise has involved a hierarchical approach starting with Gross Anatomy of hearts and then proceeding to microscopic studies of blood vessels, blood flow and blood cells and ending with transmission electron microscopy of blood vessels and heart muscle tissue. Watch this video prepared by one group of AP Biology students from Monticello High School showing their participation in this activity. A detailed description of this exercise can be found in this Powerpoint presentation.

High School Student Research Day at UVa School of Medicine:

For a number of years, a faculty member in Cell Biology has coordinated a High School Student Research Day in which pairs of high school students have spent an entire day in a basic science or clinical research laboratory at the UVa School of medicine. 20-35 students per year (mostly from Charlottesville High School) have participated in this activity.

For more information about these K-12 activities, contact: Robert A. Bloodgood at rab4m@virginia.edu