Miami, June 4, 2019 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Homestead Campus will once again host the celebrated MDC Microbiology Girls Club for three sessions on June 10-11, June 12-13 and June 17-18. Led by Assistant Professor Dr. M. Nia Madison and funded by the American Association of University Women and L’Oréal USA Changing the Face of STEM, the program is designed for minority girls in grades 6-12 from Airbase K-8, MAST Academy at Homestead, Somerset Academy, MDC School for Advanced Studies, Coral Reef Senior High, TERRA Environmental Research Center, Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts and Homestead Senior High.
The Microbiology Girls Club hosts three cohorts of 24 girls each who learn about microbiology and careers in biomedical sciences in a college setting. They participate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workshops, conduct exciting experiments at the Homestead Campus’ microbiology lab, attend lectures and tour facilities. In addition, participants network with guest speakers who are leaders in STEM-related careers across various industries, including government, pharmaceutical, higher education, nonprofit and more. The workshop concludes each day with catered lunch where the girls are paired with MDC students, Microbiology Girls Club alumni and guest speakers.
In the lab, the girls will begin experimentation by inoculating bacteria into various media for biochemical analysis and identification of the bacterium. After 24 hours of incubation, they examine color and consistency changes in the media to identify the bacterium. They also perform differential staining techniques and bright field microscopy to identify the bacterium.
“I hope to inspire girls to pursue degrees in STEM fields and become interested in biomedical research and other STEM careers,” Dr. Madison said.
Dr. Madison is a 2010 L’Oréal USA For Women in Science fellow, which funded the program for the past two years. In addition to teaching at MDC, Dr. Madison is a biomedical scientist with more than a decade of research experience in retrovirology, parasitology and host innate immune responses.