ICIS Council member, Carla Rothlin, Ph.D., recently interviewed Yale University’s Day of Immunology co-founders Dr. Lindsey Hughes, Sarah Ohashi and Sasha Tabachnikova. The following is a lightly edited summary of their conversation.
What is Day of Immunology?
Day of Immunology is an annual outreach event designed to introduce high school students to the world of immunology in a hands-on, interactive way. The idea is to help students draw connections between immunology and their everyday lives, while also sparking curiosity about careers in biomedical science.
During the event, students rotate through different workshops developed by graduate students and postdocs from the Department of Immunobiology. Each workshop focuses on teaching key aspects of the immune system, in a fun, engaging way. For instance, one workshop involves an escape room in which teams of students use their knowledge of immune cells to solve puzzles and prevent an infection. In another, they work with 3D-printed models of antibodies and pathogens to explore the specificity of these interactions and understand the basics of vaccines. Importantly, students also get the chance to meet and chat with scientists about what it’s like to work in biomedical research, whether it’s at the bench, in supporting roles, or in science communication.
That sounds fantastic! What motivated you to develop this outreach event?
We first started Day of Immunology back in 2021, right in the middle of the pandemic when it became clear just how important it was for everyone to understand how the immune system and vaccines work. Immunology isn’t typically covered during high school here in the U.S., so we saw this as a great opportunity to introduce students to a field that’s so crucial to human health and disease. We have been hosting the event since 2022, with more than 60 students attending each year.
One of our key goals is to reach students from underrepresented communities who are interested in science and to support their entrance and retention in STEM. We know that students’ perceptions about their ability to succeed in science develop as early as high school, so pre-college outreach initiatives in STEM are critical for fostering diversity. To achieve this, we’ve partnered with Yale Pathways to Science, which is a STEM outreach program that works with a large group of middle and high school scholars from the New Haven area, most of whom are from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM. We also raise funds to ensure we can hold Day of Immunology at no cost to the students and families.
What’s next for Day of Immunology?
We’re really excited about what’s coming next. We want to expand Day of Immunology to reach even more students from surrounding communities. We’re also working on a companion event called Discover Immunology, which will allow students who attend Day of Immunology to follow up with a more laboratory-based learning experience. We hope that together these programs will help students build connections with potential mentors. These events will also be a great opportunity for more of our graduate students and postdocs to develop their science communication skills and learn equitable teaching practices.
In the long run, we’re hoping to help other universities set up similar outreach events. We presented some of our teaching tools at American Association of Immunology’s IMMUNOLOGY2023 conference, which has led to exciting new collaborations. And we’re thrilled that some of our workshops will be included in the curriculum of the upcoming Global Immunocourse in India.
Congratulations on your important work! If colleagues at other universities or research institutes wanted to start something similar, how could they get involved or learn about your experience and teaching tools?
We welcome anyone interested in starting Day of Immunology at their campus or using these teaching tools in their classrooms to contact us at outreach.yaleibio@gmail.com or via our website: STEM-New-Haven
Acknowledgments
Day of Immunology at Yale was founded and led by Dr. Lindsey Hughes, Dr. Kelli Connolly, Sarah Ohashi, and Sasha Tabachnikova, with advising from Dr. Paula Kavathas. We sincerely thank the dedicated instructors and volunteers who make Day of Immunology happen, and the Yale Immunobiology Working Group for Diversity & Inclusion, Yale Pathways to Science, and all of our funders for their support.
