Monday, May 9, 2016

Fedorchak Lab Visit





  Six senior students visited the Fedorchak Lab at the Eye and Ear Institute at the University of Pittsburgh on Thursday, April 28th.  Taylor Boring, Rachael Genesi, Shane Hunt, Hannah McGlynn, Ian Ostrowski, and Hannah Swope were chosen to participate in the event from a very competitive group of students interested in science and engineering. 
            The lab that the students toured is named after Dr. Morgan Fedorchak who is a professor of Ophthalmology, Chemical Engineering, and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh School Of Medicine and the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration.  The goal of the Fedorchak Lab is the development of materials that restore or protect the gift of sight.  Dr. Fedorchak is the daughter of our superintendent Dr. DiLeo who graciously set up this experience for our students. 
Dr. Fedorchak started the morning by presenting about career options and pathways in the fields of science and engineering.  She went on to share information about different cutting edge research projects that she has been involved in.  Dr. Fedorchak focused on her current research involving ocular drug delivery for glaucoma patients.  She took our students on a tour of her lab and had an experiment based on her current research set up for the kids to participate in.  Dr. Fedorchak also took the students on a tour of some other labs in the Engineering Department at the University of Pittsburgh. 
The students had a lot of great questions for Dr. Fedorchak, and she provided them with excellent answers and insight on many different STEM related topics.  It was an amazing opportunity for our students to see cutting edge research in action!  The kids thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  Thank you to Dr. Fedorchak, Dr. DiLeo, and Mrs. McDermott for making this event happen!