PUMPKIN BIOLOGY: Members of the Molecular Biology Outreach Program at Princeton University (in MBOP shirts) show young visitors to their booth at the Arts Council of Princeton’s Pumpkin Palooza how to extract pumpkin DNA.

By Wendy Greenberg

When a group of Princeton University graduate students set out to inspire youths and adults in the community with the wonders of science, they found that they ended up being inspired themselves.

Graduate doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in the Molecular Biology Outreach Program (MBOP) recently ran a science fair on campus for high school students; plan to judge a science fair at Stone Bridge Middle School in Allentown; and are inviting adults to a “Science by the Cup” night to educate them on what scientific processes go into making beer.  They also showed community members how to make their own skin lotion, and demonstrated how to extract DNA from strawberries at the Ewing Library and from pumpkins at the Arts Council of Princeton’s Pumpkin Palooza event.

These are just a sampling of MBOP events run by volunteers who are fulltime students and scientists pursuing higher degrees, but find it rewarding “to promote science literacy and science excitement,” said Co-chair Alana Bernys, a fifth-year Ph.D. student from Cleveland, Ohio. The group is passionate about “delivering accessible, inspiring, world-class science to our communities,” according to its website. “We want to get to know you, have fun discussions, and be your casual science-based resources.”

“We spend most of our time in the lab,” said Co-chair Christopher Catalano, a fourth-year Ph.D. student from Port Washington, N.Y. “The lab is a priority for all of us. But sometimes you have to get out of the lab. Doing these events reinvigorates us.”

THE MBOP began in 2012, said Bernys. The former Graduate Molecular Biology Program was “rebranded” in 2020, and went from GMOP to MBOP. Since a step back during the pandemic, the group has expanded from graduate students to post-docs, and sometimes faculty, and occasionally collaborates with the departments of Engineering, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Neuroscience, and Chemistry.

The commitment to educating others about how “biology is all around us” and getting others excited about science was in full display at the October 26 Arts Council of Princeton Pumpkin Palooza. The volunteers at the MBOP booth demonstrated how to extract DNA from pumpkins using soap, salt, and rubbing alcohol, thereby breaking open the cells of the pumpkin, and isolating the DNA, which is visible in strands.

“Kids can do this,” said Catalano. “We send home an instruction set, and they can also do it at home with fruit and other foods.”

“The kids say “gross,” or “cool” depending on their age, and some came back three or four times,” added Bernys. The University students made small necklaces containing DNA in small test tubes as souvenirs.

Some activities, like DNA extraction, are beloved by children and adults alike, but the group has two branches, one for youth outreach, and one for adult outreach. The adult outreach group will be at River Horse Brewing Company in Ewing November 9 to demonstrate “The Science of Beer” with posters on fermentation, the use of yeast, and all that goes into making beer, including color on bottles, at various points on a brewery tour.

MBOP also holds science fairs in different schools. Bernys recalled one impressive project in which the research was based on the fact that the student’s parents did not want him to play football. He was able to put together a controlled experiment that measured force against a foam head with different helmets, and “concluded that his parents were right, and talked about why,” said Bernys.

“This is what we were going for — using science to apply to day-to-day life,” said Catalano, who agreed with Bernys that they can feel an  “infectious energy” at these competitions.

MBOP is dependent on support from its team of volunteers. The group manages a budget and plans logistics, the co-chairs explained. The Department of Molecular Biology generously supports them, they note.

Some events are annual with community partners, like a series of talks at Princeton High School on career paths in science, and some are from the creative minds of the group, such as the lotion day, and making ice cream on Hinds Plaza.

A highlight this past year was an MBOP science fair at Princeton University, attracting some 50 high school students from the surrounding area. “We wanted to model it on the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair — where high school students from around the world compete annually — and we independently put together a complete fair, held on a single day, with a keynote talk by Princeton Professor Jared Toettcher,” said Catalano, who called both the talk and the fair an “incredible success” and said that having participated as a high school student, he “wanted to be on the other side.”

After planning for months, on the day of the fair he was exhausted, he said, but around mid-morning decided to walk around and speak with the students.

“The projects were incredible,” he said, recalling one student who followed the development of salamander eggs at Herrontown Woods. “We went to inspire the students, but I have to say that I was inspired.”

Moreover, the students were impressed to be at Princeton University.  Acknowledging the college’s reputation for academic excellence, “we want to use that force for good,” he said.

“A lot of us got into science because of our curiosity,” said Bernys. “It’s so nice to share that, and get back to our roots.”

More information and a list of upcoming events can be found at mbop.princeton.edu, which lists social media and includes some MBOP-produced teaching videos.