On a crisp wintry afternoon just before Christmas, Sister Mary Jane Paolella, Dr. Wesley Bonds, and a class of talented high school science students welcomed newspaper reporters, a TV news crew, PE Biosystems representatives, and a spanking new automated DNA sequencer from PE Biosystems to the biotechnology laboratory at Sacred Heart Academy, a Catholic girls high school in Hamden, Connecticut, just outside New Haven.

The sequencer, an ABI PRISM® 310 Genetic Analyzer, was the 10,000th DNA sequencer produced by PE Biosystems, the world leader in automated DNA analysis systems. In 1986, the company shipped its very first automated DNA sequencer and helped propel the revolution in genetic analysis. Today, automated DNA sequencers from PE Biosystems are used in virtually every major genetics research lab in the world.

The production of this 10,000th sequencer represents an epochal triumph of talented people working together to develop and advance DNA analysis technology for the purpose of allowing ever more rapid breakthroughs in areas such as genetic disease studies, forensics, and plant and animal breeding, that impact everyone in the world.

A Place in History

From his office in Foster City, CA, Product Manager Bart Selby tried to convey the tremendous impact that these 10,000 sequencers are having on the world. "The knowledge that scientists are developing using these sequencers will profoundly affect mankind for the foreseeable future," he said. "History may reflect upon the achievements enabled by the people who designed and built these machines as being among the most significant developments of the 20th century." Anyone who has looked closely at the methods sections of journal articles describing the major genetic advances of the last five years, knows that these bold statements are not exaggerations.

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Commitment to Education

PE Biosystems had decided to mark the landmark accomplishment of producing its 10,000th DNA sequencer by making a statement about the company’s ongoing commitment to education, particularly at the secondary level. In part, the company wished to recognize where its great scientists, chemists, and engineers had come from, and whence they had drawn their inspiration—that is, from schools and from teachers.

The company also wanted to make a concrete contribution to the future, providing an enabling educational tool to a program that would disseminate technical knowledge about DNA sequencing to young students who will grow up into an increasingly technical world, and a world that will make ever-increasing use of the information encoded in our genes.

PE Biosystems accomplished all these purposes by deciding to donate its 10,000th DNA sequencer to Sacred Heart Academy, for use in its innovative Biotechnology and Ethics program, which provides a hands-on DNA sequencing class for talented high school seniors, and also offers an ongoing series of one-day workshops that carry this technology out into the broader community. The Sacred Heart program is directed by the school’s vice principal and former science department chairperson, Sister Mary Jane Paolella, and by Dr. Wesley Bonds, a research geneticist at nearby Yale University. Dr. Bonds also serves as scientific advisor/mentor for the Sacred Heart program.

Cast Assembles to Welcome 310 Sequencer from California

The news media came to Sacred Heart Academy to document the remarkable coming together of sophisticated DNA technology, young high school science students, and a pair of extraordinary teachers. Also on hand were representatives from the PE Biosystems sales, service, and marketing communications organizations. These reps met with the media to describe PE Biosystems, and to provide insight into automated DNA analysis, the Human Genome Project, and other related topics. The PE Biosystems service reps also helped the students go through the opening paces of their first experiment using the new ABI PRISM® 310 Genetic Analyzer, which had recently arrived in Connecticut after a long cross-country trip from California, and was still a bit woozy from its gala sendoff party in Foster City earlier in the month (see sendoff story, "PE Biosystems Celebrates 10,000 DNA Sequencers," by BioBeat^SM Magazine writer Kristy Carver).

How Sacred Heart Was Chosen

The decision to honor Sacred Heart Academy with the historic 10,000th DNA sequencer came after Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds had submitted a convincing request to Elaine Heron, Ph.D., corporate vice president of PE Corporation. Both Dr. Heron and PE Biosystems President Michael Hunkapiller, Ph.D., had previously met with Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds at poster presentations they had given at the two most recent International Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conferences, the first in Hilton Head, South Carolina, in 1997, and the second in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1998.

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The request outlined the efforts Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds had made over a number of years to develop a curriculum for their high school Biotechnology and Ethics course and documented the considerable early successes of this curriculum, first implemented at Sacred Heart in the spring of 1997. The request also indicated how an automated DNA sequencer would greatly aid the program by allowing the rapid generation of accurate DNA sequence.

Sister Mary Jane’s Impressive Science Background

Sister Mary Jane backed up her request with an impressive background of relevant experience. In addition to a highly successful teaching record, Sister Mary Jane is possessed of a Master’s degree in biology (with a specialization in anatomy and physiology) and she has been funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Science Foundation for summer work in the area of science education.

Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds also received a stipend to attend a workshop in the Department of Genome Research at the University of Washington, Seattle, where Dr. Mary-Claire King and Dr. Maureen Munn were developing the "High School Human Genome Program" under a grant from the Department of Energy. This program is presently focused on high schools in the Seattle area.

Yale's Dr. Bonds Comes on Board As Scientific Mentor

It was Dr. Munn who recommended Dr. Wesley Bonds, a research geneticist and lab manager of Dr. Sherman Weissman’s molecular biology lab at Yale University, to fill the role of expert scientific mentor for Sister Mary Jane’s program at Sacred Heart. Dr. Bonds, a native Alabaman with an infectious enthusiasm for science and a great expertise in DNA analysis, has proven to be a tireless worker on behalf of the students, and in all aspects of developing, improving, promoting, and expanding the Sacred Heart biotechnology program. Together, Dr. Bonds and Sister Mary Jane have formed a dynamic team that ceaselessly pushes the envelope of high school science education.

Students Respond to First Class with Great Enthusiasm

After a long period of detailed preparation, Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds launched the DNA sequencing project for the Biotechnology and Ethics class at Sacred Heart in the spring of 1997. The class has been an instant and enormous success. In fact, Sister Mary Jane says that students are so enthusiastic that they often give up time after school, on Saturday, and on vacation days to be in the laboratory. Their enthusiasm has been so great, in fact, that they have also brought parents and friends into the lab.

Direct Involvement with the Human Genome Project

And thanks to Sister Mary Jane’s connection with Dr. Munn, the students have already played a small, but real part in the Human Genome Project. Initially, Dr. Munn furnished the class with DNA from a region of chromosome 5 that her lab was investigating in order to identify a gene for hereditary deafness. In sequencing that DNA, the students were actually participating in the Human Genome Project.

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Dr. Bonds emphasized the significance of the students’ direct involvement with the Human Genome Project. "This gives the students a sense of importance, a chance to contribute to the welfare of mankind. The Human Genome Project is really an international scientific adventure into the discovery of what we are and how we work. What better subject of study can there be for adolescents who are in the midst of personal self discovery?"

The young women are certainly excited at having the opportunity to be investigating the human genome. "This is exposing us to a major international scientific experiment. It’s more interesting than book work," said Shama Patel.¹

"Now we have an opportunity to discover new genes that other scientists are trying to discover as well." said Gina Nero.²

Practical Benefits for Program Graduates

And already, this early exposure to sophisticated DNA analysis is paying off for graduates of the Sacred Heart program. "After the first year, one of our graduates walked into the biotechnology lab at her university, proceeded to tell one of the scientists that she had sequenced DNA in high school, and was immediately hired to work in the lab during her free time," Sister Mary Jane reported.

And the students’ hands-on exposure to sophisticated, relevant DNA science also has subtler, but equally important results. "Some of the young women have reconsidered their intended college major. Several of those not initially interested in adopting a pure science field are now thinking of combining science and law, science and business, or science with education," Sister Mary Jane said.

Workshops Bring DNA Technology to the Broader Community

In addition to the class at Sacred Heart, Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds have reached out to the broader community, including disadvantaged and underprivileged groups, by organizing and running a series of one-day DNA sequencing workshops for students and teachers from high schools throughout southern Connecticut, metropolitan New York, and northern New Jersey.

These workshops have been enormously popular and successful. In November alone, Sister Mary Jane noted, she and Dr. Bonds conducted three of these one-day workshops, with an average class size of 24, and the largest class numbering 38.

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Sacred Heart Students Help Out

The workshops also provide an additional educational opportunity for the Sacred Heart biotech students who help prepare the workshop presentations, and then participate as lab partners with the workshop attendees. The lab pairings are designed to mix students with teachers, males with females, those from inner-city neighborhoods with those from suburban neighborhoods, and those from public schools with those from private schools, in order to foster social as well as science education.

"For many, this will be the first and last time they will sequence a strand of DNA, but they have started down the road of becoming part of an informed electorate regarding this technology," Dr. Bonds said. He and Sister Mary Jane estimate that the number of teachers and students who will have participated in their workshops by the end of 1999 will reach into the several hundreds.

New Sequencer Will Make Workshops Even More Effective

Sister Mary Jane expects that the ABI PRISM® 310 Genetic Analyzer will prove especially useful for these workshops as the instrument’s great speed will allow participants to go home with their sequencing results at the end of the day. Previously, it took at least another day to produce the results, and it usually required that Sister Mary Jane get up in the middle of the night to perform a key lab procedure. The high accuracy and reliability of the 310 sequencer will also provide an enormous benefit, as it will offer a big improvement over manual sequencing where 50% of the first sequencing runs are failures. In addition, use of the 310 sequencer in the workshop program will give an ever greater number of people familiarity with the technology and the company that are truly driving the DNA revolution.

Potent Program Proselytizers

In addition to all their teaching efforts, Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds have been potent proselytizers of their program, proudly reporting its striking successes and pointing out the benefits that similar programs could reap if implemented in other schools. The two indefatigable teachers presented posters on their curriculum at each of the last two international DNA sequencing meetings.

At the Hilton Head meeting, PE Biosystems President Dr. Michael Hunkapiller visited the Sacred Heart poster and spoke at length with Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds. Dr. Hunkapiller was very impressed with their program. Recalling this meeting during the 10,000th sequencer sendoff ceremony in Foster City, Hunkapiller said, "I thought they had a very innovative program, taking something as seemingly complicated as cDNA sequencing, and using that as a way to introduce people—including minorities, and disadvantaged groups—to interesting, informative, and hands-on science. I was very impressed with Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds, and with their concept."

At this year’s international sequencing meeting in Miami Beach, Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds gave another poster presentation, with a new wrinkle. They brought along a number of their students, who described their sequencing results and discussed what Sacred Heart’s hands-on DNA sequencing program meant to them.

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PE Biosystems PR Manager Frank Gannon, a native of Ireland and quite at home with both men and women of the cloth, couldn’t help but notice the only sequencer in a habit at this meeting. Frank struck up a lively conversation with Sister Mary Jane and, sensing substance, introduced her to Dr. Elaine Heron. Like Dr. Hunkapiller before her, Dr. Heron was enormously impressed with the Sacred Heart program.

PE Biosystems Makes an Easy Decision

So, when word came that the historic 10,000th sequencer would soon be rolling off the assembly line, and the company decided to mark the moment by donating the instrument to a worthy educational program, the Sacred Heart Academy DNA sequencing program was an obvious choice.

"Our company has a strong history in our commitment to education," Dr. Heron said in announcing the donation to Sacred Heart. "We could not think of a more fitting recipient for our 10,000th sequencer than a teacher. The work being done by Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds at the Sacred Heart Academy is an example for science education programs nationwide."

Needless to say, Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds were delighted at the news. "We are thrilled that PE Biosystems has agreed to support our efforts," Sister Mary Jane said. "This instrument will bring a dramatic increase to the capabilities of our lab."

In a letter to Dr. Elaine Heron, expressing the school’s appreciation, Sacred Heart Principal Sr. Ritamary Schulz said, "I would like to extend my deepest thanks for your generous contribution of an ABI PRISM® 310 Genetic Analyzer. We are proud to be the first high school in the country to possess this state-of-the-art equipment. Your gift affirms our science curriculum and recognizes the tremendous learning taking place in high schools throughout the country."

"The DNA sequencer will allow us to further challenge our students intellectually as we encourage them to share their knowledge with the community at large. Our series of outreach workshops has been most successful and many of our students volunteer time after school to participate in these programs. We are most pleased by the number of young women who have expressed interest in pursuing careers in science-related fields as a result of our popular Biotechnology and Ethics course."

"We will continue to be an institution of innovative science education that PE Biosystems can be proud to support," the Sacred Heart principal said in closing.

The Sacred Heart students were certainly excited to have the 310 sequencer in their laboratory. The 11 young women in this year’s Biotechnology and Ethics class are already serious students of science and they clearly appreciate what this state-of-the-art automated instrument will mean for their work. These women were selected from a highly talented group of applicants in the senior class at Sacred Heart, a school that has a special dedication to science education. Sister Mary Jane noted that all 480 young women at Sacred Heart are required to take at least four years of math, and at least three years of science. Most students take between 3.5 and 6.5 years of science, she added.

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The Course Curriculum

Sister Mary Jane briefly outlined the course curriculum that so engages these bright young women. The course begins with a review of the eugenics movements in Germany and the United States. The students learn about similarities and differences between these two efforts to use science to improve the human race, and they consider a wide range of questions and issues arising from their study of these movements. Questions on the ethics of gene therapy and gene patenting are also raised and debated. Students write and defend position papers on these and other issues.

"We are in the midst of a great revolution and we must educate our young people so they can make informed decisions regarding their own futures and the future of their families," Sister Mary Jane says.

The comment of one recent Sacred Heart graduate suggests the deep impact of the ethical portion of this course. "I have been privileged to experiment with a portion of science not currently included in most high schools and to research the ethical and social implications that will affect my life and the lives of my children some day. I have begun to define and defend my stance."

Dr. Bonds expanded on the importance of the ethics portion of the curriculum. "These kids are going to graduate into a world of the sequenced genome and they’re going to spend the rest of their lives living in this world. They have to examine all the social issues. There are all kinds of complex issues that will come from this," he said.

Issue of the Day—Convicted Offender DNA Database in New York

And these issues are coming faster all the time. On the very day on which the 310 sequencer was welcomed to Sacred Heart, the ethics of DNA investigations were very much in the local news. New York City Mayor Rudolph Guiliani had just come out in strong support of the DNA-based convicted offender database in New York. At the same time, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had voiced its strong opposition to the same database on the grounds that it constituted a dangerous invasion of personal privacy. News of this debate was everywhere in the newspapers, on the radio, and on TV, as the Sacred Heart students prepared to start their first DNA experiment on the ABI PRISM® 310 Genetic Analyzer.

Clearly, these students are being well prepared to thoughtfully consider such issues. In an informal discussion of the convicted offender database issue with reporters, Sacred Heart senior Meaghan Meager, made the important point that DNA testing is different from fingerprinting because, in addition to permitting identification of individuals, it also provides information that can be used to reveal predispositions to genetic disease that might be used by insurance companies as a basis for denying health coverage.

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Hands-On Fun

Returning to the curriculum, Sister Mary Jane said that, after getting a good grounding in the ethical concerns related to DNA sequencing and analysis, the students dive into the really fun part of the class—the laboratory work. They learn to extract DNA from cells, to cut DNA with restriction enzymes, and to generate testable amounts of DNA by PCR amplification (done on a PE Biosystems 2400 thermal cycler, by the way). They also learn to perform sequencing reactions, to load and blot gels, and to detect DNA using non-toxic, non-radioactive reagents.

BLAST-ing with the Big Guys

Once the students get their sequencing data, they enter it into a computer, and then, using the school’s Internet connection, they do a so-called BLAST search of known sequence databases to determine whether or not their sequence has already been discovered and/or if it shares any similarities with known genes. This is a very exciting, detective-like process that the students really enjoy.

Or as Dr. Bonds puts it, "The DNA sequence is their ticket to interrogating the GENBANK database (a large database of known DNA sequences and genes). They can put on the uniform and play with the big guys."

Fascinating, Relevant Studies Spur Students

Already, using manual sequencing approaches, the students have learned more than many college students know about DNA and genetics. The Sacred Heart students have already examined DNA from human chromosome 5 looking for a suspected human disease gene (hereditary deafness). In another project, the students will sequence DNA from the region containing the cystic fibrosis gene. This DNA was supplied by Dr. Francis Collins, now director of the Human Genome Project, and previously leader of the group that first identified the cystic fibrosis gene more than a decade ago. The students will also be sequencing DNA from other genomes, including the rice genome.

310 Sequencer Will Accelerate Pace of Learning

With the new 310 sequencer, the students will be able to get their sequencing data much faster and move more quickly to searching the databases for answers. They will also be gaining familiarity with the PE Biosystems automated fluorescence-based technology that is now ubiquitous in the major biology and genetics laboratories around the world. And, in all likelihood, this will be the technology the students will be using in their college classes, and in the science or medical careers they may be pursuing after college.

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Media Coverage

At the afternoon’s welcoming of the 310 sequencer to Sacred Heart, the students, Dr. Bonds, and Sister Mary Jane spoke informally with the press for about two hours. Reporters and photographers from the Connecticut Post, the New Haven Register, the Hamden Chronicle, and the Meriden Record-Journal were present, as was a news crew from Channel 8 WTNH-TV (Hartford/New Haven).

Students Get Tips from PE Biosystems Field Application Specialist

Under the watchful eyes of the media and and the bright lights of the TV camera, the students prepared their first samples of DNA for analysis on the ABI PRISM® 310 Genetic Analyzer. This was done under the guidance of PE Biosystems Field Application Specialist Dr. Steve Toth, who had come down from Boston for the event. Steve directed the students in pipetting DNA samples and loading them into the thermal cycler for amplification prior to a sequencing run on the 310 instrument. This lab procedure was filmed by the TV crew and photographed by the large squad of newspaper photographers.

Sales, Service, and MarCom Reps Tell PE Biosystems Story

The welcoming event for the 10,000th sequencer was also attended by a number of PE Biosystems representatives, including Tom Matulonis (District Service Manager, U.S. Customer Support), Katherine Webster (District Manager, North American Sales), Carolyn Neiss (Senior Sales Consultant, DNA Analysis), Merle Spiegel, (Director, Corporate Communications), and Mike O’Neill, (Editor/Science Writer, BioBeat^SM Magazine). PE Corporation staff photographer Paul Jones was also on hand to document the event. The PE Biosystems representatives took time to speak with reporters and answer questions about PE Biosystems, DNA technology, the Human Genome Project, and a wide variety of other related subjects.

Installation Prompts Reminiscences

A week earlier, Tom Matulonis and Service Engineer Rocky Best, had set the stage for the day’s event by installing the 310 sequencer and running it through its warmup paces with Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds.

"It’s always great to put in a machine when the customers are so enthusiastic," Tom said. "Sister Mary Jane and Dr. Bonds were just great. They were so excited at having the new machine and seeing what it could do."

Tom also commented on the remarkable progress that PE Biosystems has made over the last decade. "When I started about ten years ago, we installed about three sequencers a year in the United States. Today, we do about 500. It is really unbelievable."

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Remains of the Day

Then, as the light lowered and the sequencing reactions hummed away on the thermal cycler, the newspaper reporters headed back to file their stories and the students raced home to see themselves on the 5 o’clock news.

With characteristic endurance and enthusiasm, Dr. Bonds and Sister Mary Jane stayed on to further describe their program to one lingering reporter. This last interview broke up only when Dr. Bonds said he had to leave to attend an evening adult education class. The title of the class?—"Teaching Science to High School Students."

Sister Mary Jane turned off the classroom lights and, with a last lingering look at the new 310 sequencer, she closed the classroom door and helped the last reporter find his way out of the building. As the writer drove off into the cold December night, Sister Mary Jane headed back to her office. There was work yet to be done.

^1,2

These quotes were taken from an article by Meg Barone in the Connecticut Post (Tuesday, December 15, 1998).

More PE Biosystems/High School Science Stories in BioBeat^SM Magazine: For more stories on PE Biosystems efforts to assist high school science programs, please see the BioBeat^SM Online Magazine's Looking Local section.

Photo Credits. The majority of photos appearing in this story were taken by Paul Jones, staff photographer, PE Corporation, Norwalk. Some were taken by Mike O’Neill, BioBeat^SM Online Magazine, Applied Biosystems Center of Excellence, Foster City. The photos of the 10,000th sequencer sendoff party from Foster City were taken by Mike O’Neill and Mark Springer of BioBeat^SM Magazine, and by a freelance photographer. For additional information on the photos in this article, please contact Mike O’Neill at oneillmd@appliedbiosystems.com or at 650-638-5508.

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