UCSF Professor Gives Lecture At Carlmont High

More than 100 students came out to hear UC-San Francisco professor Dr. Joseph DeRisi lecture about viral infectious diseases Wednesday night, the fifth science lecture this season at Carlmont High School.

“The lectures really help with our classes because they’re organized in such a way that they discuss the same stuff we’re learning in class,” said Thomas Yeh, 18, of Redwood Shores, who is currently taking AP Biology. “I’ve been to every lecture and every on has helped me a lot.”

 The lecture series is held on the third Wednesday of every month and ends next month. The Carlmont High School Biotechnology Program sponsors the series from September through April.

 “Each person comes here from their own unique field and help us and our students get to know more about the scientific community,” said AP Biology teacher Tina Doss.

 For an hour, DeRisi spoke and answered questions about the “The Virus Hunter’s Toolkit,” the development, growth and effects of viruses on the human body, and the tool’s scientists use to indentify these viruses. Using slideshows and graphics, DeRisi captured the attention of students, whose attendance could earn them up to 20 points of extra credit in their science classes.

 “I knew I was a ‘gene jock’ from an early age," DeRisi said before the lecture. “It’s important for high school students to know that today biology is really an information science.”

 DeRisi runs the DeRisi Lab which focuses on “genomic approaches to the study of infectious diseases.” A graduate of UC-Santa Cruz, he went on to earn a PhD from Stanford in biochemistry; UC-San Francisco hired him as a faculty member out a graduate school.

 Students had the chance to ask questions about SARS, neonatal deaths, and newly discovered viruses. The next lecture will feature UC-Berkeley professor Peggy Lemaux on April 27.

“The subjects are really cool and interesting and the students are just really into it,” said Doss. “We don’t have to bribe them to come. They’re just really interested.”