Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues (GTEC)

New Classroom Module Introduces Students to Gene Therapy

Decatur High School biology teacher Amanda Lockhart developed a genetic engineering module for her class with the help of Dr. Joe LeDoux and graduate student Cindy Jung, staff of the Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues (GTEC) Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program. The curriculum was designed to introduce students to basic concepts of gene therapy, what it can and cannot do, and how it might impact their lives in the future.

Ms. Lockhart attempted to personalize the complex issue of gene therapy for her students. Students listened to an interview with a young cystic fibrosis patient on a National Public Radio program. They were asked to imagine that they suffered from a serious genetic disease with no viable medical treatment, and that they had been invited to participate in a gene therapy clinical trial for the disease. Students were challenged to make an informed decision about whether to join the trial and to justify it with facts about gene therapy.

To kick off their study of the issue, Dr. LeDoux videotaped himself and GTEC faculty and gene therapy expert Dr. Peter Thulé of Emory University discussing some of the key issues patients should consider before making their decision.

The students were asked to research the topic and talk it through with their parents, further disseminating information about gene therapy to the public. Once they made their decision, they presented to classmates their rationale and the facts that led them to that position. The students' work was evaluated in part by comparing their judgment in these hypothetical cases to the opinions of experts.

This module introduced students to basic genetic engineering issues and how this topic relates to their life. Decatur High School has a 50 percent underrepresented student population, so the module also helped the ERC reach minority populations with its expertise. Ms. Lockhart and Dr. LeDoux will be repeating the module in her classroom this spring.

To learn more about this topic:
Contact the Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues (GTEC) site at http://www.gtec.gatech.edu/education/k12outreach.html.

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Last modified: February 2, 2005