Keynote Conference - Interevent

Symp#10 Cell Biology and Education
ASCB & IFCB Symposium
Chairs Bruce Alberts and Cynthia Jensen
Cell Biology and Education
Jensen, C.G.
Department of Anatomy with Radiology
University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Although Cell Biologists have a wide range of research interests, they all have a common interest in teaching cell and
molecular biology to undergraduate and postgraduate students and in training masters and PhD students and
postdoctoral fellows in research techniques. The speakers and discussants at this symposium will describe a variety of
methods of teaching and training in cell biology, including descriptions of special courses and distance teaching. There
will be an opportunity for discussion, and questions and comments from the audience will be encouraged.
Teaching at Distance: Interactive Multimedia of the Cell Biology of Trypanosoma cruzi
Benchimol, M. 1, 2 , Teixeira, D.E. 2 , Crepaldi, P.H. 1,4 3, 4
; De Souza, W.
1
Universidade Santa Úrsula, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
2
Fundação CECIERJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
3 Instituto de Biofisica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
4 INMETRO, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil
CECIERJ is a state public foundation focused in education. It includes the CEDERJ arm, which is specialized in teaching
at distance as university. Our group has developed an intense work producing multimedia material to undergraduate
students in Biology. The aim of this work was to develop educational materials in the graphical version using threedimensional
(3D) animations, to visualize the morphology, dynamic processes and basic knowledge of the Cell Biology
as a whole and here, in special of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas´ disease. Parasitic protozoa are
important agents of human and veterinary diseases not only in Brazil but also all over the world. The life cycle of these
protozoa is presented in different levels of education, from fundamental school to graduation level. Videos and
animations include: cell division, endocytosis and flagellar beating; the interaction of the parasite with a vertebrate
host cell and the behavior of this protozoan in the digestive tract of the invertebrate host. Thus, this material could: (1)
facilitate the cell biology of parasites learning and teaching, (2) provide good material which can be used by several
people at different levels, such as lectures, classes, research, thesis, etc.
Supported by CNPq, FAPERJ and CECIERJ
Engaging Undergraduate Students in Research
Kiaran Kirk
Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
There are many benefits to be gained from engaging high-achieving students in ‘real research’ from as early as possible
in their undergraduate career. At the Australian National University we offer students the opportunity to do
laboratory-based ‘Biology Research Projects’ that count as courses towards their Science degree. We have also
introduced a research-focused (and highly-selected) degree, the ‘Bachelor of Philosophy’, in which a quarter of the
courses taken over a three year period are in the form of research projects. Our experience with this mode of teaching
will be discussed.
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