Can a spark of inspiration strike twice? That’s the hope of the co-leaders of a free two-day course on the COVID-19 pandemic for high school students next week.

The course, Understanding COVID-19, will teach students about the SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic from different scientific perspectives—biological, epidemiological and clinical—and introduce them to the variety of science-related careers that have played a role in fighting the pandemic.

It will also include clinical case studies, an interview with a COVID patient and their physician, and a panel on careers in the sciences.

The course will be co-taught by Bruce Walker, MD, Director of the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard and Zuri Sullivan, PhD, HHMI Hanna M. Gray Fellow in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. It is also supported by

“The last year has shown all of us that viruses can be an existential threat to humanity,” Sullivan says. “As immunologists, we want to educate everyone on how they work, how the body fights back and how we develop vaccines.”

“One of these things we’re excited about is that you’ll hear from the people who developed the vaccines that are now being deployed,” Walker says.

“We also want to discuss the role of policy and advocacy in influencing the course of this pandemic, when lives will return to normal, how worried should we be about future pandemics and how can we prevent them,” Sullivan adds.

Sparking an Interest in Science

Dr. Sullivan first met Dr. Walker as a high school student in Maryland, when she attended a similar course on the HIV epidemic that Walker co-presented at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The talk inspired Sullivan to pursue science as a career and marked the beginning of a long-standing professional relationship with Walker.

“I had no idea that the job I have now existed, and it’s my dream job” she says. “Science has really enriched my life, allowed me to live in a different country (South Africa) and make cool discoveries.”

“I hope some of the students who take the course are inspired to pursue a career in science or public health just like I was all those years ago.”

This course is supported by the Ragon Institute as part of their broader educational efforts, as well as MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Harvard and MIT’s Health Sciences and Technology program.

Course Details

• Dates: Tuesday, April 20 and Wednesday, April 21
• Time: 10 am to 3 pm
• Open to: All high school students
• Location: Remote via Zoom (internet-enabled device needed)
• Registration: Register for free
• More Details: See the course page
• Questions: Email mdferrara@mgh.harvard.edu

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Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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