Over a 16-day period this month, South Whidbey High School biology teacher Greg Ballog and 21 science teachers from across Washington will work beside scientists in research laboratories at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and partner sites throughout Seattle.

“Our goal is for teachers to bring back what they learn over the summer to help jump-start their students’ knowledge of bioscience and research and perhaps kindle their interest in jobs or careers in science,” said Nancy Hutchison, Ph.D., director of the Science Education Partnership.

The entire SEP summer program takes place over a 16-day period in July. Teachers will receive a jumpstart session to learn laboratory basics and then spend about half of their time working one-on-one with a scientist-mentor in a research laboratory on projects tailored to their interests. Lab work during the past several years has focused on such topics as protein structure, stem cells, gene regulation, yeast genetics and fruit-fly development.

Participating institutions this year, in addition to Fred Hutchinson, include the corporate biotechnology firm Amgen, as well as Seattle Children’s Research Institute, the University of Washington Genome Sciences Department, UW Medicine South Lake Union and the joint UW/Hutchinson Center Molecular and Cellular Biology doctoral research program.