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Newest Meet the Lab Collection Visits Stem Cell Research Lab
March 10, 2021 Leave a Comment
New resources have been added to Meet the Lab, PBS Wisconsin Education’s online collection of educational resources for middle school science classrooms.
The collection, which introduces students to relevant, real-world issues and cutting-edge research, now turns its focus to the work of the Stem Cell Bioprocessing and Regenerative Biomaterials Laboratory at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. The lab studies stem cells from different tissues in the human body and uses their findings to make new structures to help treat injuries and diseases that affect the central nervous system.
Miranda Ramirez-Vang
The Why Research Matters video component helps students make connections between the work done in this lab and the real world. For this resource, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student Miranda Ramirez-Vang is featured.
During her childhood, Ramirez-Vang experienced a spinal cord injury that impacted her ability to walk. Unwilling to let the injury limit her, she and her family began learning about treatment options for people with injuries like hers, including research being done with stem cells. This, along with the positive experiences she had working with physical therapists, inspired her to pursue an education and career in medicine. Ramirez-Vang now studies biomedical sciences and participated in a summer program working in the Neural Tissue Bioengineering Lab.
“Science is everywhere around us,” Ramirez-Vang said. “We can come to appreciate that when we have people who dedicate their careers, lives and their time to finding answers, and to making things better for the rest of the world and the people in it.”
To learn more, visit pbswisconsineducation.org/meetthelab.
Meet the Lab is made possible through partnerships with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Wisconsin Alumni Research Association Foundation, Morgridge Institute for Research, and Wisconsin educators and students.
Funding provided by the Timothy William Trout Education Fund – a gift of Dr. Monroe and Sandra Trout, the Focus Fund for Education and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
