A Local Educator Offers

Summer Science Program For Bridgeport Girls

By Anna Hodge

Resident Shelley Phelan has gone from a once-inspired high school biology student to an innovator at a local university.

After working for 11 years as an associate professor of biology at Fairfield University, Dr Phelan has received two grants amounting to $35,000, according to a recent press release from Fairfield University. She is using the grants to create a one week residential science camp this summer, called BASE camp (Broadening Access to Science Education) for 24 female students from Bridgeport public schools.

But why only students from Bridgeport?

“At Fairfield University, the science departments have grown tremendously with lots of resources, so we are reaching out to kids who have limited resources,” Dr Phelan said this week. “Bridgeport is a neighbor to Fairfield University, and the schools there are limited.”

According to Dr Phelan, over the course of the one-week overnight camp, campers will work in groups of four, and they will work on one of the six research projects. This way, they will be able to “get a feel for what scientific research is like.”

By the end of the week, campers will present their research in an oral and poster presentation.

The program is only open to female Bridgeport students, because, Dr Phelan said, “fewer women pursue science opposed to men. This way, they can get excited about science and consider it for after college.”

Along with being a mentor at Fairfield University, Dr Phelan has produced some innovative programs as well. According to the press release, Dr Phelan was a key founder in the Peer Learning Group, a required component of the introductory biology program, describes as “a weekly course that serves as a way for freshmen to make a transition into college, into a science major.”

Dr Phelan also plays a role in the scientific research of breast cancer.

“I am studying the role of a particular set of antioxidant genes in normal and cancerous tissue,” Dr Phelan said. “These antioxidants protect normal cells from becoming cancerous, but are also capable of protecting cancer cells from death — so their precise regulation in the cell is critical.”

Dr Phelan became interested in the biology field after having an “amazing biology teacher in high school” who sparked her interest and encouraged her to follow her passions, said Dr Phelan. After watching family members struggle with illnesses, according to Dr Phelan, she would wonder why disease happens. By pursuing her question further, she entered into the field of biology.

As for her favorite part about her job, Dr Phelan said it is the ability to “excite students about current biology, modern biology, to empower them with tools so they can make a difference in the sciences that interest them.”

Looking forward, Dr Phelan plans to continue working with young girls.

“I’ll hopefully still be at Fairfield University,” Dr Phelan said. “I hope to still be working in an area of breast cancer, being active in my own lab. I also hope to still be encouraging young girls to get any experience they can and be productive in the science field.”