Objective: To develop and implement a pilot educational program on genetic testing at the Tokai University School of Medicine with a public engagement approach through a local junior-high school outreach program.
Methods: Seven medical students underwent 2 weeks of education and training to act as instructors for a one-day course on genetic testing for local junior-high school students. The one-day course comprised a lecture and an experimental lesson. The variation of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 gene (UGT1A1) was selected as the teaching topic. A commercially available cultured human leukemia cell line was used as the source of human genomic DNA to circumvent the ethical concerns associated with obtaining samples from participants for genomic analysis. The medical students received instructions on the basics of conducting laboratory work and handling the equipment and reagents during the 2-week training.
Results: The seven medical students completed the 2-week training. They then taught PCR and restriction enzyme experiments and the meaning of the results to junior-high school students.
Conclusion: A pilot educational program on genetic testing with a local community outreach approach was successfully developed and implemented.