NSU Newsroom
SharkBytes
Horizons
This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
Elementary School Students Learn about Making Difficult Choices in Medical Research
Dr. Robert Speth with the 4th graders.
Using animals for biomedical research is a controversial topic that requires careful thought and critical thinking skills. During an interactive session with gifted fourth graders at Tamarac Elementary School, Robert Speth, Ph.D., faculty, Pharmaceutical Sciences at the College of Pharmacy, challenged the students in discussions about scientific investigations and the use of animals in research to help find cures for diseases.
The Foundation for Biomedical Research provided resource materials that helped students learn about the “difficult choices” that support the use of animals to develop cures and new drugs.
The session covered issues such as how drugs developed through animal research can help animals as well as people. One exchange led to dialogue about how a drug developed to treat parasites in animals was later used to prevent River Blindness, a disease that afflicted millions of people in Africa. Speth also described how using animals to test drugs will reduce the possibility that those drugs may cause harm to people.
Tamarac Elementary School 4th grade gifted students with teacher John Kuhn.