A group of Grade 5 and 6 students sifts through a bucket of potting soil trying to find the parasites their cow is infected with.
"Why does our cow have so many parasites?" questions one student while exploring the dirt.
Working with Alberta schools
During the school year HPI members visit classrooms in and around Calgary, molding their presentations to the needs of teachers. One example is a visit to Carstairs, lead by Dr. Hayley Gorman, PhD to teach Grade three and four students about plant parasites, a danger to the students' bean plants.
Members of the HPI team have also teamed up with the Calgary Youth Science Fair (CYSF) to create a one-on-one mentorship program for high school students participating in the science fair. A student or student group is matched with a graduate student in the HPI program to discuss their project goals and methodology. The graduate student will also act as a mock judge to help the budding scientists answer questions about their work.
Three schools were involved in the HPI program during its first year, led by post-doctoral student Micky Ahn and Emily DeMichele, MSc '24. During the 2023-24 academic year over 400 students were mentored by the HPI team in more than ten schools. The program has continued into the current academic year, with four schools already involved and more always welcome.
The Calgary's Minds in Motion Summer Camps have also been working the HPI team, with a focus on the Natural Sciences camp, where kids learn about science and biology. For three years HPI has undertaken weekly visits with Calgary Minds in Motion, playing parasite-related games.
"It's really fun," says Parker Volk, a third year UCalgary master's student who has been the main organizer of the visits for the past two years. "It's great seeing the kids' enthusiasm and it's surprising how much they know and how quickly they understand things."
Many undergraduate and graduate students have also contributed to the creation of outreach materials through volunteering, summer projects and project-based courses. Materials are varied and include life-size board games, a picture book, a puppet show, artwork and interactive activities. To broaden their impact, they have been made freely available on the QUBES website for others to use, as described in a recent publication by HPI members entitled Collaborative parasitology: student partnerships in open education'.
Bridging the gap between public and academia
With 2025 underway, HPI's public outreach team, led by Drs. Constance Finney, PhD and Khrisendath (Kris) Chadee, PhD is ready to continue the mission to create public enthusiasm about parasitology and science.
"Bridging the gap between academia and the public is the most rewarding service we can give," says Chadee, professor at the Cumming School of Medicine and member of the Snyder Institute of Chronic Diseases.
The HPI blog is published monthly, and topics include everything from malaria in the Second World War to fighting parasite misinformation.
If you're interested in joining HPI, discussing outreach events or materials, please email Dr. Constance Finney, PhD, at constance.finney@ucalgary.ca
Formed in 2012 with support from a Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, HPI has become the largest parasitology research group in Canada. It is made up of graduate and post-doctoral students, and researchers from 19 labs including ones at the University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, University of Alberta, University of Manitoba, and University of Victoria.
