Educator Spotlight: Adelle Schade

By Cecillia Wong. -
Why it is important to bring bioprinting technology into the classroom?

One of SE3D’s core values is to share our technology with the education community, democratizing bioprinting technology to spur new innovations across all levels. Bioprinting is important because it is a cornerstone technology that can provide transformative solutions in healthcare such as organ printing and tissue regeneration. In order for us to be successful in bringing bioprinting into the classroom, we need passionate teachers like Ms. Adelle Schade to deliver this opportunity to her students. I met Adelle at the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference in Philadelphia back in 2015. The very first time we met, Adelle only saw the “concept” prototype of our r3bEL bioprinter, but when I explained to her what bioprinting and SE3D is about, she immediately got what we were trying to do. On the following day, she came back to our booth with fellow teachers and friends. I could already feel the passion she had and since then, we have collaborated to bring bioprinting into her classroom. Conrad Weiser High School was one of the first 18 schools that participated in SE3D’s pilot program and now, Adelle continues to serve as our teacher consultant to support SE3D in developing high school biomedical science curriculum under our NSF SBIR Phase 2 grant.

About Adelle Schade:
Adelle Schade is a biomedical science instructor at Conrad Weiser High School in Robesonia Pennsylvania. She has been a teacher for 22 years and specializes in anatomy and physiology, and biomedical science research. Adelle is a highly motivated and passionate teacher, she is always finding resources to challenge her students and get them more involved in biomedical research at an early age. In the summer of 2016, Adelle was able to get the CEO of a speciality glass manufacturer to visit and even donate bioglass materials to the Summer Research Institute. Many of her students are working on exciting projects; they have competed and won awards at renowned science competitions such as the Intel International Science Fairs. Adelle is currently working toward her PhD in cell and molecular biology at the University of the Science in Philadelphia.

Since getting a r3bEL bioprinter into her classroom, Adelle has been able to engage her students in exciting biomedical science research with 2D and 3D tissue constructs. In addition, the r3bEL bioprinter was able to get her students to learn and develop 3D printing and programming skills that are highly transferable into the industry. As of today, a small group of her students are bioprinting with different matrix types to explore regenerative medicine. Adelle is truly one of the success stories that is able to provide authentic research experiences to her students, giving them a leg up for their future.

Learn more about exciting research activities at Conrad Weiser High School:

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