Workshops & Summer Programs
Alumni Workshop
Our final program each summer is a multi-day workshop exclusively for alumni of other CIBT programs. Past topics have included Advanced Molecular Biology, Marine Biology, Forensics, and Microbiology.
This year CIBT is partnering with Seth Bordenstein from Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory to bring you and your students an opportunity to participate in real research!
The Wolbachia are a genus of bacteria that infect arthropods. The symptoms of infection vary between host species, but usually include a skewing of the sex ratio of offspring from infected organisms toward females. Although the extent of the infection of arthropods by Wolbachia is unknown, it has been found infecting a wide variety of organisms and in a wide range of geographic areas.
During the workshop, held on Cornell's campus, participants will collect and identify arthropod samples. We will use molecular methods (PCR) to detect Wolbachia infections in the collected specimens. We will then sequence both the infecting Wolbachia and accompanying host arthropod ribosomal DNA amplified by PCR. Using these sequences, we will construct a phylogenic tree of the bacteria and the arthropods they infect.
After the workshop, you will bring the techniques learned back to your classroom. During the 2007-2008 school year, you can collect insects in your area with your students, isolate DNA, and perform PCR looking for Wolbachia. You can then send your PCR products to Cornell for sequencing and construct a tree for your area based on the resulting sequences. In the spring of 2008, your students will have the opportunity to come to Cornell and share their findings with the researchers and other students.
Program Benefits and Responsibilities
Participants are required to attend all scheduled program activities and to complete all assignments. Participants will receive 30 in-service hours for successful completion of this workshop. Housing, breakfasts and some lunches and dinners will be provided by program. There is no charge for attending the workshop.
Draft Schedule
| Day 1: Mon 7/30 |
Day 2: Tue 7/31 |
Day 3: Wed 8/01 |
Day 4: Thr 8/02 |
Day 5: Fri 8/03 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:00 | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | |
| 8:30 | Field Trip: Insect Collection and Classification |
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| 9:00 | Activity: Agarose Gel Analysis of the Sequencing PCRs 4-Gel.pdf (89 K) |
Talk / Activity: What's Really New with Wolbachia? / Confocal Microscopy |
Activity: Bioinformatics (using our Wolbachia and insect sequences) 5-Bioinfo.pdf (55 K) |
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| 9:30 | |||||
| 10:00 | |||||
| 10:30 | Discussion: Taking This Back to the Classroom |
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| 11:00 | Activity: Insect ID 1-Insects.pdf (201 K) |
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| 11:30 | |||||
| 12:00 | Lunch (when available) |
Lunch with Hughes Scholars | |||
| 12:30 | Lunch | Lunch | |||
| 1:00 | Registration | Talk / Activity: Intro to DNA Isolation and Molecular Techniques DNA Extraction - PCR Presentation (19 K) Molecular Techniques Presentation (5.4 MB) |
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| 1:30 | Activity: Hughes Scholars Lab Tours |
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| 2:00 | Talk: Rick Harrison |
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| 2:30 | |||||
| 3:00 | Program Intro Presentation (48.5 MB) |
Activity: DNA Isolation 2-DNA.pdf (396 K) / Start PCRs 3-PCR.pdf (332 K) |
Activity: Bioinformatics (using Pre-made Wolbachia sequences) |
Hughes Scholars Poster Session |
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| 3:30 | Activity: Tour of Sequencing Facility / Bioinformatics Cluster |
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| 4:00 | |||||
| 4:30 | |||||
| 5:00 | Insect Collection Happy Hour | ||||
| ... | Dinner (Robert Treman State Park) |
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| 7:00 | |||||
| ... |
Note: Shaded meals are provided by CIBT.
Application
The application deadline for this program has passed.
