Lab Coats to Space Stations: High Schoolers Explore Stem Cell Research at Stem Cell Awareness Day

In early October, approximately 100 high-school students traded their regular classrooms for something far more extraordinary — a day immersed in the world of stem cell research, complete with lab tours, robotic demonstrations powered by brain organoids and a feed of experiments being conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

It was all part of “Stem Cell Awareness Day” at the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine. The event is jointly organized by the University of California Sanford Stem Cell Institute (SSCI) and the life-science nonprofit organization Biocom California.

Parish Jefferson, manager of the SSCI Discovery Center, explained, “One of our goals is to educate the community, so this is an opportunity for us to get students into our labs and let them learn about the work we’re doing here. It’s important to make them aware of what is happening with stem cells and how we’re trying to advance regenerative medicine.”

The day started with a keynote address from Jimmy Jackson, senior vice president and chief policy officer at Biocom California, and Francesca Soncin, PhD, a stem cell biologist and assistant professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology.

“The students were very engaged and asked very intelligent questions, not only about the science but also about career development,” Soncin explained. “I was very excited to see that. I’m an example of someone who had a passion for science and followed her dream. It’s important to me for students to have positive examples so that they can also follow their dreams.”

Students were chosen to attend based on their interest in science courses in their high school curriculum. For many, it was the first time they had ever stepped foot into a real research lab.

Students from Mira Mesa, Castle Park and El Camino high schools in San Diego County were given their own lab coats and protective goggles as they began the tour of five different labs — each offering a different hands-on experience. One of the stops on the tour was “mission control” at the Sanford Consortium — a place with huge monitors showing a feed of astronauts doing stem cell experiments aboard the ISS.

Lab manager and stellar mission specialist Jessica Pham explained to students how the institute sends biological payloads of stem cells to the ISS to study various types of cancer, including leukemia, glioblastoma, ovarian, breast  and colon. To date, the institute has sent 18 research payloads to the ISS.

“One thing that is really unique about our institute,” Pham explained, “is that we do live returns so the samples that go up don’t just get terminated in space. They come back down to Earth, and we take the cells and do multiple things with them when they return because we’re interested in changes associated with space, microgravity and space radiation.”

During Pham’s presentation, astronaut and Axiom 4 Commander Peggy Whitson, PhD — one of the most decorated living astronauts — was on the screen doing an experiment for Axiom Space. Whitson has accumulated more days in space than any other American or woman.

“I had no idea they were sending stem cells to space.” one student said. “That’s literally the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.”

The research isn’t just “cool.” It could lead to breakthrough cancer treatments and better stem cell therapies for patients on Earth. One reason is that space accelerates stem cell aging, speeding up research times. Another is that cells grown in space more closely resemble how tumors actually grow in the human body due to microgravity. This makes them useful models for studying cancer and testing treatments.

Students also got to observe two robots fueled by brain organoids and learned how brain organoids are generated in culture for stem cell experimentation. They studied 3D images of blood cells and lymphatic vessels from the Andor Dragonfly 200 Spinning Disk Confocal Microscope and performed a mock DNA purification process using magnetic beads.

“It’s really opened my eyes to all the careers out there for stem cell science,” one student commented. “Seeing all the equipment in all the different labs has been amazing.”

Kendale Wirtjes, a staff research associate at UC San Diego Health, served as one of the tour guides at Stem Cell Awareness Day, greeting students from his alma mater, El Camino High School. When students discovered that Wirtjes graduated just four years earlier, their excitement was palpable. For Wirtjes, the moment resonated deeply.

“It was truly an honor to be someone whom the students looked up to during this event,” he said. “I remember being in their shoes, wanting to pursue a career in science. Seeing how much they already know made me feel hopeful for the next generation of scientists.”