More than half of middle school students who express an interest in STEM will lose interest by their high school graduation. The Duke School of Medicine BOOST program is working to combat this by inspiring young students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue careers in STEM via fun hands-on learning experience and mentorship. When the opportunity arose for the Eye Center to participate in the BOOST program and share our passion for vision with local Durham students, we were thrilled.
On a recent Saturday morning, Eye Center members from all campuses gathered at the Main Eye Center to welcome the BOOST program scholars. Students rotated between stations to get a glimpse of the wide variety of research, clinical, and surgical opportunities in the ophthalmology field.
At the Wetlab Station, each scholar was paired with a Duke medical student. They made cataract surgery wounds in pig eyes at surgical microscopes, and they loaded intraocular lens implants.
The BOOST students also learned about the importance of imaging in the pediatric population, especially newborns and premature infants who cannot get imaging done with conventional means. In the DARSI lab students were able to use a model eye to test out the FDA cleared commercially available Leica Envisu C2300 handheld OCT device and also Dr. Cynthia Toth’s investigational handheld OCT device (UC4) which allows for faster and higher resolution imaging.
Move over chatbots, in the McNabb lab students explored how AI and robotics are bringing ocular imaging capabilities to remote communities, expanding access of care and improving accuracy of diagnoses.
Finally, students paired up and took turns as examiner and patient to practice key portions of a clinical eye exam including testing depth perception and examining eye health under the slit lamp microscope.
Over the course of one short day, we hoped to inspire the next generation of ophthalmology clinicians, surgeons, and researchers!