News

June 22- July 8, 2008- The long awaited African Bushmeat Expedition has come and gone and we are all home safe in San Diego. Visit the blog to read a day by day account of our expedition. We hope to bring together the video footage and photographs we took on our expedition soon. So keep checking and supporting the students at High Tech High. We are excited to take our expedition and our findings to the next level and share our experiences with the world.

June 16-June19, 2008 - BIO 2008 conference and African Bushmeat Expedition unite in San Diego. Zac Sheffer, Megan Morikawa, and Dr. Vavra presented on Monday their “Best Practices Workshop” on DNA barcoding applications to African Bushmeat and San Diego Bay Studies. The presentation was given to a standing-room-only group of science teachers from around the country.

Additionally, Dr. Vavra had been nominated for the Genzyme-Invitrogen Biotech Educator of the Year Award. Monday night, in an American Idol like awards ceremony he was announced the winner and was able to give a speech after the Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, gave her talk.

Then on the first two days of the convention, students presented, as planned, in the Invitrogen booth, talking about the expedition they would be leaving for at the end of the week. Students demonstrated to BIO attendees how to load and separate DNA with Invitrogen Safe e-Gels. They also were able to present with the long-awaited flash demonstration of the DNA process. Dr. Vavra was also gave an acceptance speech at the Plenary luncheon before Craig Venter and Governor Schwarzenegger.

May 15, 2008 - Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of the non-profit Ugandan organization, Conservation Through Public Heath (CPTH), spoke at High Tech High about her organization, which strives to "promote conservation and public health by improving primary health care to people and animals in and around protected areas in Africa". Later that evening, Dr. Kalema-Zikusoka was awarded the 2008 Conservation-In-Action Award at the Zoological Society of San Diego's 2008 Conservation Medals Awards dinner. Beth, Elise, Megan, Dr. Vavra and his wife attended the dinner.

April 28, 2008 - HTH African Bushmeat Expedition profiled in anarticle by Roots & Shoots. Click here for the article.

April 16, 2008 - Megan Morikawa introduced Dr. Jane Goodall prior to her talk at the University of San Diego Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice. See Megan's transcript here.

April 2, 2008 - Dr. Jane Goodall visited San Diego as a part of her North American speaking tour. An audience of more than 500 heard her lecture, 'A Message of Hope', at the Foothills United Methodist Church in East County. A video created by HTH African Bushmeat members especially for the event was debuted and received warmly by Dr. Goodall and the audience. Others attending the event included Deus Cosmos and Joan Embery. Before the lecture, members of the African Bushmeat Expedition were able to meet and share ther projects with Dr. Goodall.

March 5, 2008 "For many years, illegal weapons and illegal drugs have been the commodities of choice to some of the globe's most brazen underworld figures, even spawning the term "narco-terrorism. Yet the illegal wildlife trade, which has received considerably less public attention, is an increasing concern and may be on the rise. As a result, illegal wildlife trafficking poses a risk, not just to the survival of God's creatures but also to the safety and stability of our world and the American people. "
-U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall, II - Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources
Oversight hearing on "Poaching American Security: Impacts of Illegal Wildlife Trade" 
Click for article.

February 2008 - Beth Jacobs (left of Leno) assisted her internship mentor Joan Embery with exotic animals on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Interview with Deus Cosmos - Before heading to Tanzania we had the good fortune of having Tanzania come to us in the form of Deus Cosmos, regional coordinator for the Roots & Shoots Program in the Mara Region, Tanzania.  After presenting his work on the conservation of baboons in Tanzania to several classes at High Tech High, Deus shared some more of his story with us.  Read the interview with him here.

Check out HTH in an article by ZOONOOZ and the Peninsula Beacon.

Dr. Vavra described the High Tech High African bushmeat research to
the Secretary of Commerce, Carlos M. Gutierrez, and his chief of staff who visited the Biotech Lab.

Megan Morikawa at the 2007 BioGENEius Competition.
Her project, dealing with an alternative means of DNA preservation via dry storage on qualitative filter paper, looked at the applications of barcoding in service of the African bushmeat crisis. She was the only representative from California and the winner of the SouthWest Regional Competition. She also recieved the California Association of Professional Scientists Young Scientist of the Year award for her work on DNA preservation.

Khoa Tran at the 2006 BioGENEius Competition.
His project looked at using the DNA "barcode" in service of identifying species of the African Bushmeat Trade. Using highly processed Jerkey samples, Khoa tested to find the highest yielding DNA extraction method to identify trace samples. He was the only representative from California and competed in the 2006 BioGENEius competition.