The New  Florida Protein Crystals in Space Program

We prticipated in a workshop in Huntsville, Alabama on April 14th and 15th which was conducted by the Alabama Space Grant Consortium and  Dr. Joe Ng of the Structural Biology Department of the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH).  Four (4) teachers and fifteen (15) students participated from Florida along with students and teachers from Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi.  Six high schools from northeast Florida were represented at the workshop (The Bolles School, Terry Parker High School, and Stanton College Preparatory Academy in Jacksonville, Fleming Island High School in Clay County, and Eastside High School and Oak Hall School in Gainesville). One of the activities conducted at this workshop involved the students and two of the teachers making protein crystallization payload samples which are planned to be launched on the Soyuz rocket from Russia in October for the International Space Station (ISS).

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This is our group of 4 teachers and 11 students who participated in the April 14th-15th, 2008 Huntsville workshop. 

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Huntsville April 14th/15th Workshop Agenda and links

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Sunday, April 13th- Travel to Huntsville by van.
          Stay at the Bevill Conference Center Hotel at UAH

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Monday, April 14th

The April 14th activities were held at UAH's new Shelby Center

A.M.- Welcome and Introduction by Dr. John Gregory and Dr. Joe Ng

Dr. John Gregory  Director, Alabama Space Grant Consortium

Dr. Joe Ng  UAH Structural Biology Laboratory

Dr. Owen J. Garriott  Astronaut, Skylab (1973) and SpaceLab (1983)

Dr. Larry J. DeLucas  Astronaut, STS-50

Dr. Edward Meehan  Director, UAH Structural Biology Lab

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P.M.- Vapor Diffusion Lysozyme Crystallization Activity
                    Mrs. Anna Holmes

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     Payload Sample Preparation
Dr. Joe Ng and UAH Structural Biology Lab staff

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Evening- Pizza party at the Bevill Center

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Presentation by Mrs. Anna Holmes about her experiences
associated with satellite launches with the European Space
Agency using Soyuz rockets from the Russian Cosmodrome

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Bo Smith, Program Manager, Florida Protein Crystals in Space
Margaret Baguio, Outreach Coordinator, Texas Space Grant Consortium

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Tuesday, April 15th

9:00 a.m.- Tour of Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology

Dr. Neil Lamb gave a presentation and conducted a tour of the Hudson Alpha Institute. The Hudson Alpha Institue brings researchers and private companies together with the objective of investigating personalized medicine.

Personalized medicine involves using an individual's genome to determine appropriate medications increasing effectivenes and  reducing side effects.

Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology website

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10:30 a.m.- Tour of UAH Structural Biology Lab

Click here for images of UAH Structural Biology Lab Tour

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12:00- Lunch and Final Remarks- Bevill Conference Center

The lunch gave students and UAH staff the opportunity to exchange comments following the workshop.

The tour of the US Rocket and Space Center gave the teachers and students  the opportunity to explore the museum and enjoy the video simmulators and space rides.	Two teachers (Diane Conlon on the left and Sarah Rosenfeldt on the right) and a student anticipate the 'Space Shot' launch experience. Another popular simulator with the students was the gravity simulator.
Mr. Mohammed Arab, AP Chemistry teacher at Terry Parker High School and proein researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville receives some shuttle landing simulator training from Mr. Robert S. Smith (ex-navy carrier pilot)	Kristin Capes, student from Flemng Island HS practices simulated space shuttle landings in a futile attempt to defeat Mr. Smith in a good natured shuttle landing simulator competition.