USD Magazine Fall 2010

USD MAGAZINE 4 AROUND  THE PARK urns out, fish parts speak volumes, even under the rookie scalpels of local high school science stu- dents. Guided last fall by USD biology professor Sue Lowery, Mater Dei Science Academy students learned how exercise enhances aerobic performance in different varieties of fish, and they sliced into fish specimens to identify fast-twitch sprinter muscles, slow-twitch endurance muscles as well as various organs.

GUTS AND GLORY Col laborat ion sparks heal thy interest in science [ g r o u p e f f o r t ] by Trisha J. Ratledge T

science education and careers, the program gets promising Mater Dei scientists into labs and research fields with USD profes- sors as mentors. The participants, totaling about 20, come from Mater Dei’s Science Academy, an accelerated program for some of the school’s brightest students. Workshops, field trips and spe- cial events — all developed and run by USD science faculty — give the academy students a glimpse into a vibrant scientific

Not surprisingly, the students approached their gutting lab work with youthful vigor. “They just dove in,” says Annette Ketner, USD senior director of Foundation Relations, who attended the workshop. “They were loving every minute of it.” The workshop marked the beginning of a three-year collabo- ration between USD and Mater Dei Catholic High School in Chula Vista. Funded by a grant from The ALSAM Foundation to encourage

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