Public release date: 27-Dec-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Diana Kenney dkenney@mbl.edu 508-289-7139 Marine Biological Laboratory
WOODS HOLE, MASS. -- What happens when graduate students in biology are given the freedom to play, dabble in new fields, launch into the unknowns of genuine research, not worry about getting "good" results?
In the case of the MBL Physiology course, one outcome has beenparadoxicallyan extraordinary level of new knowledge and publications generated by student-and-faculty teams.
In the Dec. 21 issue of Science magazine, several scientists who have directed the Physiology course detail their winning formula for instilling in students the passion for and ability to conduct "real research," as lead author Ron Vale of University of California, San Francisco, describes it.
The article presents the overwhelmingly positive feedback from a poll of Physiology course alumni from 2004 to 2010; and the remarkable list of 23 research papers and 59 meeting abstracts that developed out of Physiology course projects from 2005 to 2012.
Vale and Tim Mitchison of Harvard Medical School co-directed the Physiology course from 2004 to 2009 and revamped it in significant ways: (1) an equal number of students from cell biology and from physical sciences are admitted (2) students go through a "boot camp" to learn research techniques outside their fields and to begin thinking and stretching beyond their comfort zones (3) faculty give students the kernel of a "real" research problem not an exercise and the students develop an experimental plan, reporting back on what they found at the end of 11 intense days (often working 14 hours a day!)
And if they find nothing? Not a problem! "That's most of what is going on!" Vale says. "Learning from failure is a crucial part of being a scientist." The atmosphere the course intentionally creates is "intense, yet low-risk," minimizing "the fear of failure or of appearing ignorant, factors that impede students, as well as senior scientists, from venturing into new fields or learning new approaches," the article states.
Very often, students and faculty become so inspired by a research problem that they continue to work on it after the course ends, at their home institutions. That is how the seven-week Physiology course has generated so many publications.
The positive impact on students is evident from the alumni poll, which includes comments like, "I am now much more likely to try new experiments even though they seem nearly impossible. This attitude has had a very positive influence on the fun I have being a scientist, which is also reflected in the results."
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Having serious fun in the MBL physiology course
- Tier II INDV for Summer I or Fall 2010 (Project Soar) - May 14th, 2010 [May 14th, 2010]
- Medical Receptionist - May 25th, 2010 [May 25th, 2010]
- Student Health Advisory Committee - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- UA Career Services Kick-Off - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- International Alliance for the Prevention of AIDS (IAPA) - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- UA Best Buddies - Campus Club - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- International Alliance for the Prevention of AIDS - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- Physician Assistant Careers - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- Student Health Advisory Committe - December 21st, 2010 [December 21st, 2010]
- UA Chapter of Project Sunshine - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Vive Peru - February 14th, 2011 [February 14th, 2011]
- Surgery Undergraduate Research Fluency (SURF) Program - February 27th, 2011 [February 27th, 2011]
- Rehab Technician - March 19th, 2011 [March 19th, 2011]
- Medical Office Position - March 29th, 2011 [March 29th, 2011]
- Med-Start Summer Program/Counselors & Resident Assistants Needed - April 3rd, 2011 [April 3rd, 2011]
- Volunteer Training for Hospice Family Care - May 15th, 2011 [May 15th, 2011]
- Physiology : neuromuscular junction - motor unit - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Google I/O 2008 - Anatomy and Physiology of an Android - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
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- Human Physiology : What Is a Nucleotide? - September 1st, 2011 [September 1st, 2011]
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- The Neuroscience Club - September 4th, 2011 [September 4th, 2011]
- Physical Therapy Opportunity - September 4th, 2011 [September 4th, 2011]
- 13. Cardiovascular Physiology - September 5th, 2011 [September 5th, 2011]
- Peripheral Nervous System: Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathology - September 7th, 2011 [September 7th, 2011]
- Physiology Tour - September 11th, 2011 [September 11th, 2011]
- VivePeru's Winter 2011 Internships - September 11th, 2011 [September 11th, 2011]
- Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) - September 11th, 2011 [September 11th, 2011]
- Physiology of Lipoprotein Metabolism - September 13th, 2011 [September 13th, 2011]
- Anatomy and Physiology (Intro) - September 15th, 2011 [September 15th, 2011]
- Heart Physiology (Cardiac output: part 3/6) - September 16th, 2011 [September 16th, 2011]
- Lipoprotein Physiology: Overview (1/4) - September 17th, 2011 [September 17th, 2011]
- Respiratory Physiology Part 2 - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Global Brigades-Ghana - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
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- Science in Action: Aero Medicine 1956 Vintage Physiology Training FIlm - September 30th, 2011 [September 30th, 2011]
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- Digestive Physiology - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- Endocrine System Physiology.wmv - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
- Anatomy - October 4th, 2011 [October 4th, 2011]
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- Anatomy and Physiology - October 5th, 2011 [October 5th, 2011]
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- Learning Anatomy and Physiology? - http://tinyurl.com/huanatomy - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- "Anatomy and Physiology", The Liver - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Homeostasis Physiology Biology - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Anatomy of the Ear and Physiology of Hearing (basics).wmv - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Interview about 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Strength Project Anatomy and Physiology: The Anatomical Position - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Autonomic Nervous System Physiology.wmv - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Peter Doherty, Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Interview - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- Chapter 1 Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology.wmv - October 7th, 2011 [October 7th, 2011]
- Human Physiology for Regular People - Interactive Study Guide - October 7th, 2011 [October 7th, 2011]
- 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine - October 7th, 2011 [October 7th, 2011]
- Rockefeller University Press Conference 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Ralph Steinman - October 7th, 2011 [October 7th, 2011]
- Muscle Physiology Chapter: Video 2 of 2 - October 7th, 2011 [October 7th, 2011]
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- 35 Chapter 08 Part 02 Physiology - October 7th, 2011 [October 7th, 2011]
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