Guest Lecture - Lynne T. Bemis and Linda Burhansstipanov
Ellen Smith
Linda Burhansstipanov with the Native American Cancer Research Corporation
(NACR) shared with us the work that she does to teach genetics to the Native
American community. With the language barrier and different way of life, Linda
and her staff have to find creative ways to teach science to a community who t
hat may not even know what a human cell is. Her presentation was another way of
showing how creativity and science are equally important. Linda also gave us an
over view of how proposals and grants work for our future research goals.
Three questions I did not ask
- Since there are so many native american languages, do you find yourself having to change your format to better help the tribe or even the interpreter understand the main concepts from your presentation?
- Grants are what funds the research and communication but I was curious if the government funds the corporation at all?
- You said that, "the hardest things for families with cancer patients to ask for is help." What other ways does the corporation work to help the native community besides giving information and emotional support? Do you help pay their bills and would that money also come from grants?
Future directions to take this:
- I would take the concepts that Linda taught us and reformat them or alter them to fit other cultural groups. Perhaps even in other countries.
- The games and creative teaching could be used to teach children who have been diagnosed so that they understand what exactly cancer is.
- I am going to try to use these games and forms of communication in my own research in hopes of getting parents and the community to ask more questions and get a better understanding.
