As trained scientists, it is our responsibility to share our enthusiasm and expertise with the broader public. Listed below are some of the outreach activities our lab has organized:
Scienspur program for STEM education
July, 2023: Richa led a lecture on concepts of cell biology as part of the Scienspur program organized by the South Asian Institute at Harvard University to provide STEM education to economically disadvantaged students attending public funded colleges and universities in India.
Expanding your horizons outreach for STEM
Apr, 2023: Sardana lab organized two hands-on workshops for 9th grade Ithaca high school girls on building and using a simple mircroscope. This workshop was part of the ‘Expand your horizons’ community outreach program at Cornell to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers.
Microscopy workshop using foldscope
Sept, 2022: Richa organized an outreach workshop in collaboration with Advancing Secondary Science Education through Tetrahymena (ASSET) program on using foldscopes to explore the natural world. The workshop was led by Dr. Manu Prakash (Stanford) and organized as part of the invited Barbara McClintock lecture at Cornell.
NSF-REU Molecular Biology and Genetics of Cell Signaling
2022 onwards: Summer Research Experience, NSF funded REU Molecular Biology and Genetics of Cell Signaling: Sardana lab participates in mentoring and engaging with the summer REU students in a ten-week summer program with a strong focus on diversity.
Consider Cornell program
2022 onwards: Richa participates as Faculty mentor to help diversify graduate programs at Cornell.
Molecular Medicine Diversity Council
2022: Molecular Medicine Diversity council: Richa chaired the Diversity council to create a document on Inclusivity and commitments that define the values of the department of Molecular Medicine.