¾ Identify three precautions that must be taken into account when working with human participants

¾ Why are human participants treated differently than animals?

¾ Human participants ¾NIH tutorial, “Protecting Human Research Participants”

<http://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/PHRP.pdf>

¾Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. (1999); Washington, DC: AERA, APA, NCME. <www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/standards.aspx>

¾The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA); (15 U.S.C. §§ 6501–6506) <www.ftc.gov/privacy/coppafaqs.shtm>

¾ Animal care & use ¾Laboratory Animals, Institute of Laboratory Animal

Research; (ILAR), Commission on Life Sciences, National Research <http://dels.nas.edu/ilar>

¾Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, 8th Edition (2011) <http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/Guide-for-the-Care-and-Useof-Laboratory-Animals.pdf> <www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12910>

¾Federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) 7 U.S.C. 2131-2157; Subchapter A - Animal Welfare (Parts I, II, III) <www.nal.usda.gov/awic/legislat/awicregs.htm>

¾ Potentially hazardous biological agents ¾American Biological Safety Association: ABSA Risk Group

Classification – list of organisms <www.absa.org>

¾Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) - 4th Edition. Published by CDC-NIH, <www.cdc.gov/biosafety/publications/bmbl5/BMBL.pdf>

¾World Health Organization Laboratory Safety Manual <www.who.int/diagnostics_laboratory/guidance/en/>

¾OSHA – Occupational Health and Safety Administration <www.osha.gov>

¾ Potentially hazardous chemicals ¾Material Safety and Data Sheets (MSDS)

<www.flinnsci.com/msds-search..aspx> <www.ilpi.com/msds/index.html>

¾Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website for green chemistry <www.epa.gov/greenchemistry>

¾Occupational Safety and Health Administration <www.osha.gov>; Safety and Health Topics: <www.osha.gov/SLTC/> <www.osha.gov/SLTC/reactivechemicals/index.html> <www.osha.gov/SLTC/laserhazards/index.html> <www.osha.gov/SLTC/radiationionizing/index.html>

¾ Things to consider when experiments do not turn out as anticipated: ¾What really went wrong? ¾Human error Æ wide-range ¾Mechanical error ¾Skipped steps in procedure/ill-devised or incorrect procedure ¾Effectiveness of materials ¾Is it wrong or is my hypothesis incorrect? ¾Re-examine & revise hypothesis; re-test ¾How can it be improved or corrected? ¾Conduct additional research ¾Make appropriate modifications, adjust methodology/materials

¾ Identify three things to consider when experiments do not turn out as anticipated

¾ Identify three examples of human error

¾ If after having collected & analyzed your data you have determined that your hypothesis is invalid, you must revise it so that it becomes valid ¾Examine the invalid components Æ components that are not

supported by collected data ¾Determine what needs to be changed ¾Acquire additional knowledge by conducting research that

supports your potential revisions ¾Database research

¾Modify the hypothesis ¾Carry-out changes to methodology & materials ¾Re-test the new hypothesis ¾Conduct new experiments ¾Repeat & modify again if still invalid

¾ Identify difficulties you have experienced while conducting experiments ¾ How did you overcome them?

¾ Must contain the following sections in this order: ¾Title ¾Abstract ¾Introduction ¾Materials & Methods ¾Results ¾Discussion ¾Conclusion ¾References

¾ Each section should be labeled & should begin on a new page with the exception of the title

¾ Identify the sections of a scientific manuscript in order of appearance ¾ Why must citations appear throughout the

document?

¾ A descriptive title that accurately describes the experiments conducted & findings produced ¾Avoid overly ‘catchy’ titles that draw attention but do not

describe your project ¾Avoid excessively long titles & titles that don’t provide enough

information about the project ¾Avoid irrelevant information

¾ Should be clear & to the point

¾ Present tense

Components ¾ Title ¾ Names of authors & contributors ¾Author’s name, additional contributor’s name, mentor’s name,

advisor’s name ¾ Work/school address & contact information ¾Department/program name, school name, school address;

school email address

The Effect of Sunlight on Plant Growth John Doyle, Mark Rogers, Shawn Cyran, Crystal Ponticello

Biomedicine Academy, Academies @ Englewood, Englewood, NJ; johdoy@epsd.org

~or~ Daily Exposure to Sunlight Enhances Growth Two-fold in

Thelypteris noveboracensis Jane Doe, Lily Bot, Jackie Goolsarran, Crystal Ponticello

Biomedicine Academy, Academies @ Englewood, Englewood, NJ; jandoe@epsd.org

¾ With your science fair partner, come up with two

potential titles for your science fair project

¾ A brief summary that concisely describes the project’s significant content & conclusions ¾Selling point of your project – should attract readers ¾One paragraph (limit of 250 words) ¾Past/present tense; passive impersonal (it was shown that) with

minimal 1st person plural (our studies show that) to describe work

¾ Should not include references to any figures or cited literature

¾ Should not include detailed descriptions of methodology or materials used

Components ¾ Description of importance & impact of your work

¾ Problem statement

¾ Summary of important findings & meaning

¾ Summary of important conclusions or implications

Taken from Liu et al. 2014. TGFbeta Induces 'BRCAness' and Sensitivity to PARP Inhibition in Breast Cancer by Regulating DNA Repair Genes. Mol. Cancer Res. Epub ahead of print.

Abstract Transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) proteins are multitasking cytokines, whose high levels at tumor sites generally correlate with poor prognosis in human cancer patients. Previously it was reported that TGFbeta downregulates the expression of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) and mutS homolog 2 (MSH2) in breast cancer (BC) cells through a miRNA-mediated mechanism. In this study, expression of a panel of DNA repairgenes was examined, identifying breast cancer 1, early onset (BRCA1) as a target downregulated by TGFbeta through the miR-181 family. Correlations between the expression levels of TGFbeta1 and the miR-181/BRCA1 axis were observed in primary breast tumor specimens. By downregulating BRCA1, ATM, and MSH2, TGFbeta orchestrates DNA damage response (DDR) in certain BC cells to induce a 'BRCAness' phenotype, including impaired DNA repair efficiency and synthetic lethality to the inhibition of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Xenograft tumors with active TGFbeta signaling exhibited resistance to the DNA-damaging agent doxorubicin but increased sensitivity to the PARP inhibitor ABT-888. Combination of doxorubicin with ABT-888 significantly improved the treatment efficacy in TGFbeta-active tumors. Thus, TGFbeta can induce 'BRCAness' in certain BCs carrying wild-type BRCA genes and enhance the responsiveness to PARP inhibition, and the molecular mechanism behind this is characterized. Implications: These findings enable better selection of sporadic breast cancer patients for PARP interventions, which have exhibited beneficial effects in patients carrying BRCA mutations.

¾ Identify the major components of an abstract ¾ What components should not be included?

¾ Provides historical background information about the work & its key components ¾Cite sources throughout introduction ¾Example: (Ponticello et. al., 2014) or [1]

¾ Minimum of 5 pages ¾Provide relevant, in-depth background on project

¾ Minimum of 10 references ¾Basis of support/evidence for project

¾ Present tense for all background information & key terms

¾ Past tense, passive impersonal (it was hypothesized that) with minimal 1st person plural for remaining components ¾Objective ¾Hypothesis ¾Predictions ¾Summary of ideas explored

Components ¾ Important relevant information found through research

(databases)

¾ Definitions of key terms

¾ Explanation of purpose or objective

¾ Clearly written formal hypothesis statement & significance of project

¾ Prediction of results or expected outcome & why

¾ General, brief & concise summary of scientific idea explored

¾ Identify the major components of the introduction

¾ What is the purpose of the introduction?

¾ Provides a description of the methodology & the materials used in the studies ¾Several detailed paragraphs dependent upon depth of project ¾Past tense, passive impersonal (concentrations of 1.0 g/mL and

2.0 g/mL were used to…)

¾ Must be written in paragraph form ¾Numbered steps, bullets, &/or lists are not permitted

¾ Should not include any results or findings

Components ¾ Summary of methodology in paragraph form ¾Detailed enough for others to repeat, but not excessively

detailed ¾Example: Concentrations of solutions are expected to be reported

but not the # grams solute added to mL solvent

¾ Description of materials used in paragraph form ¾Description of any apparatuses that were constructed

¾ Equations used

¾ Could include a flowchart/diagram to clarify a complex procedure/apparatus

¾ Identify the major components of the materials & methods ¾ What components should not be included?

¾ Incorporates data & general analysis ¾Provides a narrative summary of your findings with tables,

graphs, & figures (accompanied by labels & concise captions) ¾Provides an analysis of what your results mean ¾Makes data coherent, encourages comparison of data, indicates

relationships, & simplifies complex information

¾ Highlights data relevant to the study ¾Does not contain all raw data collected

¾ Does not contain guesses, conclusions, or interpretations

¾ Past tense, passive impersonal/1st personal plural (it was found that…)

Components ¾ Narrative summary of your results

¾ Figures: tables, charts, images, graphs ¾Should be neat, titled, & described

¾ Comparison & general analysis of your data

¾ Clarification of your results

¾ Completion of any calculations

¾ Identify the major components of the results? ¾ What components should not be included?

¾ Provides an interpretation of your data & describes its significance ¾Describes how results relate to hypothesis & rationale ¾Combination of present & past tense (passive impersonal)

¾ Offers potential explanations for findings ¾Use ‘may indicate,’ ‘suggests,’ ‘likely,’ ‘may explain,’ etc,

rather than definitive terms

¾ Provides improvements for experimentation

Components ¾ Description of what your studies have shown & what it

means ¾How does it relate to a greater idea? ¾What does it mean in conjunction with previous studies that

have been performed? ¾Cite sources

¾What kind of additional experiments can be conducted to further investigate this idea? ¾How can the experiments be improved?

¾ Identify the major components of the discussion

¾ Identify questions to ask yourself while constructing the discussion

¾Draws conclusions about the experiments based on your findings ¾Provides an overall summary of significant findings ¾Past tense, passive impersonal/1st person plural ¾1-2 paragraphs

¾ Provides recommendations for future studies based on your findings

Components ¾ Determination of whether the purpose was achieved

¾ Determination of whether or not the hypothesis & predictions were proven true ¾Reference to important findings

¾ Direction future studies can take

¾ Identify the major components of the conclusion ¾ Compare the components of the conclusion to those

of the discussion

¾ Acknowledges contributions & ideas of others

¾ Should be cited throughout manuscript & in reference page

¾ Minimum of 25 accepted sources

¾ Single-spaced, second line indented; space between sources

¾ Should not include encyclopedias & internet search engines ¾Suitable as starting points only

Components ¾ MLA or APA format ¾Not both

¾ Scientifically or academically accepted sources only

¾ Significant number should be included

¾ What is the importance of a reference page?

¾ What could happen if one did not include a reference page in a scientific manuscript?

What is the role of ethics in science?

¾ “Scientific fraud and misconduct are not condoned at any level of research or competition. Such practices include plagiarism, forgery, use or presentation of other researcher’s as one’s own and fabrication of data. Fraudulent projects will fail to qualify for NYCSEF and Intel ISEF-affiliated fairs.”

- New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF)

¾ Examples of scientific research misconduct ¾Falsifying data ¾‘Stealing’ ideas ¾Mistreatment of experimental subjects ¾Failure to report findings ¾Plagiarism, failure to maintain confidentiality, accepting

bribes, bias, fraud

¾ Honesty in reporting scientific data

¾ Careful analysis of results to avoid error

¾ Independent interpretation of data & analysis of results

¾ Open sharing of methods & results through publication & presentation

¾ Validation of results through replication

¾ Proper acknowledgement of sources of information & ideas

¾ Moral obligation to society, rights of human & animal subjects

A graduate student in a lab is performing an experiment

on the effect of protein X on cell movement. Protein X is a well-known cell movement enhancer. He treats 6 groups of cells with protein X and finds that 4 of the groups move in response to the treatment while 2 do not. He knows that protein X should make the cells move so he reports his findings based on the results of only the 4 groups of cells. Has he acted ethically? Why or why not?

¾ What is the role of ethics in science?

¾ Identify five examples of scientific research misconduct

Why is consent necessary in scientific research?

¾ Protects the investigator as well as the study subject; promotes informed decisions ¾Explains purpose of research ¾Describes risks/benefits ¾Discloses potential alternative treatments ¾Describes level of confidentiality ¾Indicates whether or not compensation is provided ¾Provides appropriate contact information ¾Declares participation is voluntary

¾ Maintains ethical practices ¾Promotes informed decisions ¾Prevents coercion ¾Guarantees compliance with HIPAA laws; maintains privacy of

study subject

¾ Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act - Federal protection of individually identifiable health information ¾Personal information ¾Name, social security #, demographic info

¾Personal records ¾Medical records/health information, billing records ¾ Privacy from family members

¾Fraud/abuse/misuse ¾Limits sharing of information

¾ Identify five major components of a consent form

¾ What is HIPAA & its purpose?

What is a biological hazard?

¾ Materials derived from a biological (living) source that can cause harm to our body upon exposure ¾Blood/blood components ¾Body fluids ¾Cells, tissues ¾Microorganisms ¾Bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites

¾Recombinant DNA

¾ Require special handling & risk assessment

¾ Determined by biosafety level (BSL-1-4) ¾BSL-1 ¾Well-characterized agents not known to consistently cause disease;

minimal potential hazard ¾BSL-2 ¾Agents that pose moderate health hazards

¾BSL-3 ¾Exotic agents that may cause serious or potentially lethal disease

¾BSL-4 ¾Dangerous & exotic agents that pose a high risk of infections; life-

threatening

¾ Identify five examples of biological hazards

¾ Compare & contrast the four biosafety levels

What is environmental responsibility?

¾ ‘Green chemistry’ – avoiding the use or production of hazardous substances during a chemical process ¾Waste prevention ¾Use of safest possible chemicals & products ¾Design of least possible hazardous chemical syntheses ¾Use of renewable materials ¾Use of catalysts to minimize chemical usage

¾Use of safest possible solvents & reaction conditions ¾Maximization of energy efficiency ¾Minimization of accident potential

Why must we be environmentally responsible?

¾ To conserve resources & protect our environment from

unnecessary destruction & misuse