HHS/SIC Dual Credit Students Learn About DNA Fingerprinting at SIC

Harrisburg High School students enrolled in a dual credit biology course with Southeastern Illinois College visited the college campus Friday with their instructor, Tina Mondino.  The class was invited to view some bacterial slides they made in their biology lab on the high-powered microscopes in the new SIC biotechnology lab.  SIC instructor, Jason Fitzgerald, also worked with the students on gel electrophoresis. 

“Gel electrophoresis is a way to separate DNA fragments on the basis of size.  It’s a critical step in the process of DNA fingerprinting. The students are loading gels with samples of simulated DNA so that we can separate the fragments and stain them to visualize them,” said Fitzgerald.

Mondino and Fitzgerald are pictured instructing students on the use of simulated DNA.  The students are.  (back-to-front) Dustin Brown, Tyler Pierson, CJ Murphy, Thomas Bucinski, Kyle Brown, Callie Travelstead, Meredith Wolf, Ashley Harrod and Lindsey Lambert.

“We are so appreciative of SIC for sharing their resources with our high school students,” said Mondino.  “[The students] are able to learn so much more about some of the high-tech areas of biology.” 

The math and science division at SIC will host a hands-on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) day on April 22 for all area high school students.  For information, contact Fitzgerald at 618-252-5400, ext. 2229, or jason.fitzgerald@sic.edu.

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