SAR HS students had the opportunity to visit the immunology research lab of Dr. Steven Reiner who spoke to the students about his research in cell signaling, specifically focusing on lymphocyte (a type of white blood cell) fate and metabolism. He described lymphocyte cell division and propagation, in which some lymphocytes differentiate and some remain stem cells. He explained how this process may have arisen in early evolution, as well as the link to cancer and autophagy. He referred to the research of Craig Thompson, president of Memorial Sloan Kettering with whom Dr. Reiner worked and whom some of our students heard speak last month.

Soon after hearing his lecture, the AP Bio students studied cell signaling and the role of kinases including, cyclin dependent kinases (cdk’s), a topic that beautifully overlapped with topics covered during Dr. Reiner’s presentation. The ninth graders who participated in the trip had just completed a unit in which they studied cell division and stem cells and Dr. Reiner’s talk built well on that unit.

SAR really appreciates the time that Dr. Reiner took to present to our students, as well as the opportunity he gave them to see science in action in the real world in his laboratory where his graduate student showed them the equipment used in their research. Lab research visits such as this one are a real gift to students and helps them imagine doing science research themselves some day.

SAR is so appreciative that James Lapin, father of ninth grader Gavriella, arranged the presentation by Dr. Reiner and the tour of his lab.