{"288931":{"#nid":"288931","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Class Notes: Stem Cell Engineering with Classmates from Cali to MIT","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 10 graduate students are discussing stem cell population analysis, when it\u2019s time. Before they can continue the discussion, Todd McDevitt, the instructor, has to do one thing \u2014 turn on the TV.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of this class, not only is the topic of stem cell engineering unique, but thanks to video conferencing technology, Georgia Tech students can now take a class with their peers from across the country,\u201d said McDevitt, an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStem Cell Engineering (BMED 8813) has been offered since the spring of 2011 and was created by McDevitt as a way to educate graduate students about a research area that is becoming increasingly popular.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIncluding the 10 students at Tech, there are 39 students enrolled in this semester\u2019s course. Aside from Tech, they are located at Washington University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, University of California, Merced, and the University of Wisconsin. And although this is a graduate-level course, undergraduates can take the course with McDevitt\u2019s permission.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESo what can students expect during a week of classes? On Tuesdays, students from all of the participating campuses hear a lecture via the video conferencing system on a stem cell engineering topic \u2014 think everything from stem cell biology basics to stem cell biomanufacturing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen the class meets on Thursdays, two students (at each location) typically lead a 50-minute discussion on a recently published journal article related to the lecture topic to their in-person peers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen, for the remainder of class, the Tech group video conferences with the students at other locations to discuss the key points brought up by each local group.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s very helpful to have the perspective of students and faculty from other universities,\u201d\u0026nbsp; said Jenna Wilson, a Ph.D. student in the bioengineering program who is a former student of the course turned teaching assistant. \u201cBecause people at other universities have different areas of research expertise, they can provide greater insight into aspects of the stem cell engineering field and pose interesting questions for discussion.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWilson also appreciated the small class size and discussion format of the course.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBoth aspects allow for great conversations with other students and some of the leading faculty in the stem cell engineering field,\u201d she added. \u201cEven though the class is broadcast across six universities, it\u0027s still a small group where you can feel comfortable sharing ideas and opinions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe course is typically offered during spring semester. For more information, email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:todd.mcdevitt@bme.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMcDevitt \u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe 10 graduate students are discussing stem cell population analysis, when it\u2019s time. Before they can continue the discussion, Todd McDevitt, the instructor, has to do one thing \u2014 turn on the TV.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The 10 graduate students are discussing stem cell population analysis, when it\u2019s time. Before they can continue the discussion, Todd McDevitt, the instructor, has to do one thing \u2014 turn on the TV."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2014-04-07 15:26:49","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:11","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-04-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"288921":{"id":"288921","type":"image","title":"Class Notes: BMED 8813","body":null,"created":"1449244274","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:51:14","changed":"1475894986","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:46","alt":"Class Notes: BMED 8813","file":{"fid":"199174","name":"classnotes_stemcellfinal_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/classnotes_stemcellfinal_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/classnotes_stemcellfinal_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":253889,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/classnotes_stemcellfinal_0_0.jpg?itok=JeAKaG8M"}}},"media_ids":["288921"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.ibb.gatech.edu\/","title":"Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=78","title":"Todd McDevitt"},{"url":"http:\/\/mcdevitt.gatech.edu\/","title":"McDevitt Research Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"91121","name":"BMED 8813"},{"id":"89341","name":"class notes"},{"id":"3322","name":"classes"},{"id":"167603","name":"Stem Cell Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}