Horry County students experiment with genetics on wheels

Some Horry County students gained hands-on experience in a state-of-the-art genetics laboratory Tuesday thanks to a South Carolina research and treatment center based in Greenwood.

The Gene Machine, a lab housed in a 41-foot custom bus, is the educational arm of the Greenwood Genetic Center, a nonprofit institute that provides clinical genetic services, diagnostic laboratory testing and research in medical genetics.

The bus, which operates at no cost to the schools or district, made its first stop this week at the Academy for Technology and Academics in Conway, and will make its way to Myrtle Beach and St. James high schools over the next two days. Students experimented with real lab tools to try and identify “patients” with genetic disorders and diseases, such as sickle cell anemia and diabetes, while learning how to find recessive and dominant traits for those genes.

“They’re getting exposed to stuff that they don’t always get in the classroom,” said Teresa Nirenstein, health science and pre-med instructor at ATA. “It’s important for them to use the tools before they get into the workforce, or even college.”

This is the fifth year the Gene Machine has stopped at ATA, thanks to the efforts of Nirenstein. Nirenstein – who was a chiropractor for many years – wanted to give students up-to-date genetics lessons, which isn’t always easy because of how much science advances every year, she said.

“I felt that what I knew about it wasn’t up to speed, since so many breakthroughs had been made since I graduated college,” she said.

About 25 students sat at tables outfitted with various tools of the genetics trade so they could learn how to test faux samples for the sickle cell anemia trait. Genetics instructor Dillon Gray was on hand to guide the exercise step by step, answer questions and “give students some background knowledge of genetics, even if they’re not interested in going into the field,” he said.

“Knowing about how genetics work and what they’re at risk for later in life can impact students’ lifestyle choices in the future,” Gray said.

Students donned aprons and gloves before checking the tips on their micropipettes – instruments used to measure and dispense microscopic samples. Students carefully loaded controlled blood samples into a gel substance.

“This is better than sitting in our classroom – not that we don’t do anything cool in class, but this is different,” said senior Jacie Moore, who wants to go into a biology field.

The gel was then loaded into an electrophoresis box that was put into a buffer liquid mostly made of water. Gray sent an electric current through the samples, which pushed them through the gel. The samples could then be identified and compared based on how far they traveled down the gel square.

“It’s a pretty well-rounded educational program,” Gray said. “The most important part is getting to use the tools and equipment they’ll use in college.”

Even if Nirenstein’s students don’t want to go into the genetics field, the mobile lab exposes them to many other types of medical fields. Many health care fields are focusing on preventing sickness – whether through genetic manipulation or diet and medicine – rather than fixing something that’s already broken, she said.

“For these guys, health care is going into preventative medicine rather than treatment,” she said.

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 2:28 PM with the headline "Horry County students experiment with genetics on wheels."