P3
August 2012
alk about working under
a microscope.
The DNA lab on the fourth
floor of GCU’s brand-
new College of Arts and
Sciences building features
a giant window separating
students from visitors
in the hallway – not to
micromanage the novice
DNA analysts, but rather
to shine a spotlight on
the detail-oriented work
being conducted in one of five new laboratories
on campus.
Few students will be trained enough to test bodily
fluids and conduct DNA comparisons by this fall. But
that’s simply because the forensics program is less
than two years old. With nearly 400 new forensic
science students beginning prerequisite courses, the
labs should see heavy use as the forensics program
continues to evolve.
In addition to the DNA lab, the 73,000 square-foot
Arts and Sciences building includes two general
chemistry labs, an organic chemistry lab and a forensic
chemistry lab. Forensic science students will be joined
by others in nursing, biology pre-med and other
programs that require lab work.
Melissa Beddow
, the assistant professor who leads
GCU’s forensic science program, said students will use
the same tools in the new Arts and Sciences building as
they’ll encounter in most professional DNA labs. The
idea is to distinguish GCU from other universities, by
giving more hands-on opportunity to undergraduates
and better equip them for the workforce.
“They’re actually going to be able to add to a resume
that they’ve worked with those instruments,” Beddow
said. “It’s set up like a real DNA lab, just like you’d see
at any crime lab.
“The hardest part about getting a job in forensic science
is the initial job. It’s very competitive. Personally, it took
me one year of applying to a bunch of different labs
before I got a job.”
The DNA lab is a major improvement from the 1970s
facilities at the Tell Science building, where forensic
students worked on fingerprinting, taking plaster casts
of footprints and other basic CSI-like techniques in
semesters past.
GCU’s first forensic science graduates are scheduled to
earn their diplomas this fall. Last semester, there were
around 300 students enrolled in the program, but
the popularity of crime scene and DNA analyses shot
enrollment numbers to around 700 total for the fall.
Lab coordinator
Teresa Bohman
said the new Arts
and Sciences labs will include special airflow features
to maintain sanitation. As many as 24 students will
fit into a single classroom lab, she said, although for
some courses as few as 12 would be optimal. It will all
depend on enrollment figures.
Many students will be working with samples of blood,
saliva and semen ordered from a company in St. Louis.
The samples are used by forensic program students
to develop DNA readings from samples that simulate
crime-scene evidence collection.
Bohman, whose background is in DNA sequencing,
said she’s pleased with the opportunity GCU students
will have to do what many undergraduates miss at
larger universities.
“Students at a lot of big universities have the ability to
join a big research lab, but they’re cleaning glassware
or doing the stuff the grad students don’t want to do,”
said Bohman, who is organizing other lab coordinators
to ensure efficient workflow in the new labs from 7 a.m.
to 10 p.m. daily.
The focus at GCU is on preparing students for work at
labs or in municipal police crime labs. In order to land
those jobs, they must be able to demonstrate how to
use the instruments used by the pros.
Bohman said the hands-on mentality is essential, and
the forensics program requires that students pass their
foundational chemistry coursework before working in
the DNA lab.
“By the time you get to DNA class, you’re not
randomly putting substances into an instrument – you
understand what’s happening at the molecular level,”
she said.
Melissa Beddow (left) and Teresa Bohman say
the new DNA lab in the College of Arts and
Sciences building has helped draw about 700
students to the forensic science program.
