Teachers in the Labs: Inspiring Science Education
On a hot July afternoon I joined a group of teachers at a University of Washington lab. They were getting an up close look at a facility that played a hidden role in a major news story. You might have heard about a new microbicide gel that blocks HIV infections.

"It's things like that you can point to and say, yes, it is making an impact," says Dave Anderson, head the Washington National Primate Research Center. He credits the pigtail macaque monkeys kept in this facility that were used in experiments for the new gel. (More...)

NWABR Program Manager Dina Kovarik, PhD, featured in
Research Saves magazine!

A patient’s story, especially if that patient is a scientist, can bring a sense of reality and poignancy to biomedical research...When invited to speak at the first high school Junior Science Café of the academic year, I jumped at the chance. I titled my talk “Demystifying Breast Cancer: A Personal Tale,” hoping that I could encourage students to ask questions – to demystify something that has touched, and sometimes killed, so many..." Download PDF

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Discussion Guide Available!

Download Discussion Guide

NWABR is proud to announce the availability of a discussion guide to enhance active reading and consideration of issues raised in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Crown Publishers, 2010). This guide is open for use by anyone who would like to facilitate discussions or personally reflect on lessons from the book.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is journalist Rebecca Skloot’s quest to tell the true story about the woman (and her family) whose cancer cells were the first human cells grown successfully in a laboratory. Skloot masterfully opens the door for readers to explore current bioethics issues that are surprisingly relevant to most, if not all, people. The story is one of cutting edge biomedical research, potential harms and benefits of participating in research, the nature and purpose of information gleaned from our bodies, the influence of faith and family history on the way people perceive their experiences, and the great potential of relationships to heal or deepen our wounds. The opportunity to discuss lessons from this book for us as researchers and research participants is rich; we all have much to learn regarding what is important in building research practices that are trustworthy, ethical and effective.

Contact NWABR to learn more about The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks discussions in your area. To learn more about the author or book, visit Rebecca Skloot’s website where she also features our discussion guide: http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks : A Discussion Guide is a collaboration between Northwest Association for Biomedical Research and University of Washington with funding from NIH grant 1 UL1 RR 025014.