Caltech and PCC Team Up to Help Pasadena College-Bound Students

Four graduate students in the research group of Matt Thomson, an assistant professor at Caltech, designed and led a summer bioengineering course for Pasadena high school students.

By News Desk

American businesses from chipmakers to hospitals say they need more employees with strong educations in the sciences, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).  Federal data suggests this STEM-worker shortage is also slowing the applications of biomedical discoveries. This affects Pasadena, a hub for biotech, medicine, and STEM research.

One step toward increased STEM training in the Pasadena area is the Upward Bound Math/Science program for high school students managed by Pasadena City College (PCC). It served 139 local high school students this year. As one of the program’s key partners, Caltech provided four mentors to lead the bioengineering technology track in five weeks of summer academic enrichment on the PCC campus.

This year’s mentors were Meera Prasad, Arjuna Subramanian, Alec Lourenço, and Shichen Liu, all graduate students in the research group of Matt Thomson, an assistant professor of computational biology and a Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator.

Thomson had been in contact with Caltech’s Center for Teaching, Learning, and Outreach (CTLO). He asked Prasad to lead the Upward Bound course. She remembers him saying that designing and executing a course like this is a lot of work, but the opportunity to change someone’s life is worth it. When Prasad talked to Subramanian, Lourenço, and Liu about it, they were excited to lead as well. The team created a curriculum for their days with the students.

The five-week summer program, which ran through August 4, 2023, assisted 55 local college-bound students who plan to pursue STEM careers. The U.S. Department of Education funds the broader Upward Bound program to increase the rate at which first-generation and low-income students complete high school, enroll in college, and earn a degree.

Students gain biotech skills

In addition to taking classes in college-prep fundamentals of math, science, English, and a foreign language, the students in Upward Bound Math/Science each chose a STEM career track to study one day per week. Eight chose biotech.

The four Caltech bioengineers taught classroom sessions at PCC focused on protein design and machine learning with a challenging coding component.

The biotech students conceptualized and completed two experiments.

One team of four aimed to design blue proteins that could replace artificial food dyes. The other team aimed to design proteins that kill bacteria. The teams designed their new proteins on computers, ordered DNA to express the proteins, and used a PCC lab to test if the proteins worked as intended, building experimental skills with the help of the Caltech graduate students. At the end of the program, the participants analyzed their data and presented their findings.

Students and mentors benefit

By completing summer classes and leading their own research projects with Caltech mentors, the biotech-track students are taking steps to close the STEM worker shortage and positioning themselves for college and rewarding careers.

In addition to their research projects, the Upward Bound Math/Science students took part in an environmental science retreat at Yosemite National Park and toured college campuses including Stanford and UC Berkeley, as well as PCC’s neighbor of 99 years, Caltech.

The program is open to Pasadena students from Blair, Marshall Fundamental, Pasadena High School and John Muir High School Early College Magnet. Participants are also eligible to join from nearby Mountain View, El Monte, and South El Monte high schools.

This article has been edited for clarity and brevity. Read the at Caltech.edu.