Principles of Biomedical Science

The Principles of Biomedical Science (PBS) course provides an introduction to biomedical science through exciting hands-on projects and problems. Students investigate concepts of biology and medicine as they explore health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, sickle-cell disease, hypercholesterolemia, and infectious diseases. They will determine the factors that led to the death of a fictional woman as they sequentially piece together evidence found in her medical history and her autopsy report. Students will investigate lifestyle choices and medical treatments that might have prolonged the woman’s life and demonstrate how the development of disease is related to changes in human body systems.

The activities and projects in PBS introduce students to human physiology, basic biology, medicine, and research processes and allow students to design experiments to solve problems. Key biological concepts, including maintenance of homeostasis in the body, metabolism, inheritance of traits, and defense against disease are embedded in the curriculum. This course is designed to provide an overview of all the courses in the biomedical science program and lay the scientific foundation for subsequent courses.

By engaging in activities like dissecting a sheep heart, students explore concepts of biology and medicine to determine factors that led to the death of a fictional person.

Key Units

• Students investigate a crime scene to determine the forensic evidence to determine the circumstances of a hypothetical death.
• Students extract and examine DNA
• Students deduce the biology of Diabetes
• Students investigate genetic inheritance and sickle cell disease.
• Students dissect a heart to determine the structure and proper functioning.
• Students explore microbiology and infection in relation to the human immune system.

Medical Interventions

Medical Interventions (MI) allows students to investigate the variety of interventions involved in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease as they follow the lives of a fictitious family. A “How-To” manual for maintaining overall health and homeostasis in the body, the course will explore how to prevent and fight infection, how to screen and evaluate the code in our DNA, how to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer, and how to prevail when the organs of the body begin to fail. Through these scenarios students will be exposed to the wide range of interventions related to immunology, surgery, genetics, pharmacology, medical devices, and diagnostics. Each family case scenario will introduce multiple types of interventions, reinforce concepts learned in the previous two courses, and present new content. Interventions may range from simple diagnostic tests to treatment of complex diseases and disorders. These interventions will be showcased across the generations of the family and will provide a look at the past, present, and future of biomedical science. Lifestyle choices and preventive measures are emphasized throughout the course as well as the important role that scientific thinking and engineering design play in the development of interventions of the future.

Key Units

• Students explore the diagnostic process used to identify an unknown infection.
• Students explore how to screen and evaluate the code in our DNA.
• Students explore the diagnostic process used to determine the presence of cancerous cells.
• Students explore protein production, blood sugar regulation, dialysis, organ donation and transplantation, and non-invasive surgery techniques.
• Students create a bionic human.