Second-year medical student Simone Porter (right) talks to fairgoers about hypertension.
In March and April, Weill Cornell students and faculty reached out to public schools in the community in organizing three special programs.
During Brain Awareness Week (March 12–18), Weill Cornell's Department of Neurology and Neuroscience participated in Family Science Night (March 14) at Hunter College Elementary School (94th Street and Park Avenue). Dr. Teri Milner, research professor of neuroscience, and graduate students brought animal and human brain specimens to show to students, who were able to hold and touch some of the specimens. In addition, they set up exhibits on memory, taste, optical illusions, and other exercises related to neuroscience. Brain Awareness Week is co-sponsored by the Society for Neuroscience and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives in collaboration with more than 1,200 science, advocacy and health organizations.
Cornell Science Challenge winners in both the "Best Scientific Method" and "People's Choice" categories with their mentor Julie Miller (far right), a research technician in the Cellular Biochemistry and Biophysics Program at the Sloan-Kettering Institute.
The Weill Cornell chapters of the Student National Medical Association and the Boricua Latino Health Organization sponsored the Healthy People Community Health Fair at the Family Academy at P.S. 241 in Harlem on March 31. Focusing on minority health-care issues, the fair offered exhibits on women's, children's and men's health; vision, cholesterol and glucose screenings; vaccinations; nutrition and fitness education; and alcohol, drug and tobacco awareness.
On April 3, seventh-grade students from the East Side Middle School at P.S. 158 (77th Street and York Avenue) presented poster exhibits at a science fair held in the Olin Hall gym. The students' research projects were completed as part of the 4th annual Cornell Science Challenge, a mentoring program organized by Weill Cornell graduate students. From January to March, mentors (graduate students and research technicians) participate in science classes at the East Side Middle School, introducing the seventh-graders to the key elements of the scientific method: hypothesis, experimentation, analysis and conclusion. The young students also have an opportunity to visit laboratories at Weill Cornell.