Mercer University School of Medicine, and the Health Sciences Center helped sponsor the Atlanta Science Festival Exploration Expo

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On Saturday, March 25, 2017, Mercer University, Mercer University School of Medicine, and the Health Sciences Center helped sponsor the Atlanta Science Festival Exploration Expo at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia. At this event, community members, children, and their families have the opportunity to interact with faculty, staff, and students from Mercer University and participate in health related demonstrations. Dr. Jaehwa Choi, assistant professor of physiology at Mercer University School of Medicine, and students, Anbinh Hoang, Hannah Blakeslee, and Tracey Franco, hosted an event that helped educate participants about the heart. They conducted demonstrations related to CPR techniques and the biology of the heart using anatomical models, training manikins, and virtual reality headsets. When asked about her experience, Dr. Choi said, “To be honest, I got inspired by curious minds probably more than I inspired kids. Inquisitive minds and questions in science always remind me about how much I love science and even more teaching what I love.” Dr. Sumner, Dean of the School of Medicine, said, “Dr. Choi and the students that worked with her are among the best of MUSM. We are committed to encouraging young people to enter the STEM disciplines and events like the Atlanta Science Festival help us reach these students. We especially appreciate Joe Hutcheson of Vizitech USA and the company’s support of this effort. Dr. Choi and her team should be commended.”

We are very proud of Dr. Choi, the students, and all of the hard work that went into making this event a success. We are thrilled that we were able to reach students interested in STEM disciplines at a young age. Dr. McKallip, Vice-Chair of Department of Biomedical Sciences, said, “Dr. Choi is a talented and energetic educator who continually finds innovative ways to present complicated material in a creative and fun way. It is wonderful to hear that her demonstration on the working of the heart was so well received at the Atlanta Health Sciences Exploration Expo.”

If you have any follow-up questions or comments, please send them to Catharine Groover at groover_ce@mercer.edu.