For high school students, making the decision about how to spend the summer months can be difficult. But for the 16 girls who attended the Genomic Opportunities for Girls In Research Labs (GO GIRL) summer program, held from June 11-14, the choice was easy.
GO GIRL is a week-long educational outreach program designed to provide a unique opportunity for young women interested in gaining hands-on laboratory experience in molecular biology and genomics. The program, which is in its fourth year, is hosted by the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy, and Loudoun County Public Schools, and funded through a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The goal of GO GIRL is to enhance the girls’ interest in the health sciences and give them a better idea of what type of work they might like to pursue. Shahrozia Imtiaz, a rising junior at Loudoun County High School, already knows that she wants to pursue a career in the medical field, but says that the camp has helped her determine what to focus on. Imtiaz and her fellow campers say they enjoy spending time in the lab and find it to be “interesting and fun!”
During the program, which is held at the GW Science and Technology Campus in Loudoun County, the girls conduct lab-based activities, such as experimenting with bacteria and exploring gene expression and genetic modification of organisms. They also learn about genetic variations that influence why some people love broccoli and cabbage while others don’t. Through these experiments, the girls are given the opportunity to expand their knowledge and explore the association between their ability to taste the bitter compound phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and their genetic make-up.
“GO GIRL provides experiences that are not offered in school. The girls at GO GIRL camp get to ‘see it’ and ‘do it’ with their own hands,” noted Dr. Nancy Skacel, assistant professor of Pharmacology and Physiology and Health Care Sciences at the SMHS.
”GO GIRL camp helps me to see what I’d be doing if I were to go into a career in genomics,” said Ally Lee, a rising sophomore at Briar Woods High School. This is precisely why SMHS and its partners host the program, as it is geared toward fostering an interest in science in young women in an effort to encourage them to pursue careers in the field – with the larger goal of balancing the male-female ratio of science professionals in the future. Taylor Reed, a rising senior at Dominion High School, is interested in a career in forensic science, so when she heard about the camp from her teacher she thought it was “a perfect match.”
Over the course of four days, the girls are mentored by female faculty members including Dr. Nancy Skacel from GW and Dr. Amanda Munson and Dr. Tracey Nickola, assistant professors at Shenandoah University’s Department of Pharmacogenomics. Additionally, there are several young women from undergraduate and graduate programs at both GW and the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University who help run the program. These mentors give the girls the encouragement they need to be confident in the lab and help them learn through hands-on experiences.
Each day, the campers also have “Lunch and Learn” sessions that expose them to female health professionals who come in to speak about their careers. This provides the girls with a broader understanding of what pharmacists, genetic counselor, registered nurses, and physicians do on a daily basis – giving them insight into these careers.
In recent years, the GO GIRL program has attracted both local and international attention. In 2010, Drs. Skacel, Nickola and Munson presented to a delegation of six women academics, scientists and medical professionals from Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Jordan and Mongolia. The group, who was invited to the U.S. by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, was exploring best practices in promoting the inclusion of women and girls in the fields of science and technology. Additionally, GO GIRLS has been featured several times by the local media.
The professors themselves say that that the female mentors in their own lives played a major role in influencing their careers as scientists. “I think we were all really lucky to have positive female role models who got us interested in the sciences and showed us that working in a lab doesn’t mean you have to be a spinster for the rest of your life,” said Dr. Nickola. “GO GIRL is our way to pay it forward.”
