Additional Resources
The following additional resources may prove helpful to educators as they develop their lesson plans and guide students’ interests in the sciences and public health.
Public Health Laboratories: What are we?
- http://www.aphl.org/Pages/default.aspx: APHL (Association of Public Health Laboratories) is a national organization that represents state and local government public health laboratories for the purpose of strengthening these laboratory systems to better serve the public’s health in the United States and globally. This website provides information about APHL and its various programs, how to get involved, information about public health laboratories, APHL-sponsored education for laboratorians, policy and more.
- http://www.aphl.org/AboutAPHL/memberlabs/Pages/default.aspx: This is a link within the APHL website which provides a list of state and local public health laboratories and other APHL member laboratories working in environmental health, agriculture and food safety. Contact information includes street address, phone number, web address and laboratory profile.
- https://vimeo.com/52548635: A great 1-minute video called “What is a public health lab?”
- http://www.cdc.gov/: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- www.vimeo.com/aphl/eid: Working extremely closely with the infectious disease team over the past few months, we have produced another fun animated video! This time we’re talking about emerging infectious diseases. Check it out!
STEM and More
- http://www.stemedcoalition.org/: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is an education coalition formed from members of the business, education, science and technology sectors of the workforce for the purpose of raising the awareness of policy makers about the critical role that STEM education plays in US economic global competitiveness. This site provides information on the STEM Education Coalition’s goals, members, core policy principles, how to become a member, and additional resources.
- http://www.envisionexperience.com/STEM: Envision Experience STEM National Youth Leadership Forum: Explore STEM
- This is a 6-day forum to introduce middle school students to careers in engineering, environmental science, medicine and technology. It is held annually at several locations throughout the US.
- http://www.nea.org/tools/lessons/stem-resources.html: This site provides what the author, Phil Nast, believes are the 10 best STEM resources. These resources can be used by students and/or educators.
- http://nsta.org/: This is the National Science Teachers Association site with a “Science Standards” tab for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Within the NGSS tab there is a collection of classroom sample assessment tasks. One of which is public health laboratory related with a mathematics component: Antibiotic Resistance.
- http://sciencefestivals.org: This is the Science Festival Alliance website. This site describes how to organize a science festival, how to get connected and partner with festivals, and lists currently scheduled science festivals throughout the US.
- http://soinc.org: This site explains what Science Olympiad is, its mission, goals, how to start a team, schedule tournaments, and much more! There are links to each state’s Science Olympiad with a list of events hosted in each state.
Science Education Programs
- http://www.sciencebuddies.org: This site provides a wealth of information related to science fair projects. It includes project ideas, science careers, and teacher guides. Of relevance to a public health laboratory career is the microbiologist description under science careers as well as microbiology projects.
- http://www.studenteducationprograms.com/science/: This site provides a compilation of science summer programs and camps for high school and middle school students.
- http://www.cdc.gov/museum/camp/detective/index.htm: The CDC Disease Detective Camp is a 5-day camp at the CDC in Atlanta, GA for rising high school junior and senior students to learn about careers in public health by probing a disease outbreak using epidemiologic and laboratory skills.
Science & Social Media
- http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom: K-12 teachers have taken advantage of Twitter’s format to keep their classes engaged and up-to-date on the latest technologies.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)
When public health laboratories were established around the turn of the 20th century, the need for gonorrhea and syphilis testing made them among the very first offered tests. Over a hundred years later, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) remain a public health problem with the resurgence of HIV and other STDs in pockets around the US. PHLs continue to respond to this challenge. Public health laboratory scientists play an integral role in helping reduce the spread of STD’s. Partnerships with epidemiologists, nurses and clinicians, help ensure that people get tested to minimize the spread of organisms that cause STDs.
- http://www.aphl.org/AboutAPHL/publications/Documents/ID_2011May_STDIssueBrief.pdf: This publication describes the role of PHLs in STD testing.
- http://www.cdc.gov/globalaids/: CDC plays a critical role in helping Ministries of Health in partner countries build strong, sustainable programs that respond effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. CDC provides support to more than 60 countries as a key partner in the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
- http://kff.org/hivaids/fact-sheet/the-hivaids-epidemic-in-the-united-states/ : HIV/AIDS is not only a problem internationally, it is an issue that affects many families across the United States.
- http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbherpes.htm: Genital Herpes Simplex Virus 1 & 2 - Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) or type 2 (HSV-2).
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