- 1SeptemberThe Case Opens
- 2OctoberThe Master Switch
- 3NovemberThe Molecular Cause
- 4DecemberReading the Evidence
- ToolPBSNCBI Gene and MedlinePlus gene cards
- ToolGenDBLAST: human vs zebrafish and mouse IRF6
- ToolHBSAlphaFold and UniProt: structure to function
- ToolGenDClinVar: pathogenic vs uncertain variants
- SkillPBSGenDHBSRead evidence straight from primary databases
- ScaffoldPBSGenDHBSClick-by-click steps with a deliverable each time
- 5January (intensive)The Fix
- 6FebruaryThe Whole Patient
- 7March to MayYour Own Research
- ActivityBIDesign your own experiment (pick from a menu or propose one)
- ToolBIBLAST, AlphaFold, ClinVar, and CDC data as research tools
- SkillBIResearch question, variables, controls, then present
- ScaffoldBIA worked exemplar and a rubric for every mission
Each card is a concept, tool, skill, or scaffold. The colored tag shows which class it connects to. Click any item to open its session.
The months are this research track's own cadence (it runs all year with HOSA). Classes connect by concept and are taught in different terms: PBS in the fall, GenD across the year, HBS and BI in the spring. Open any session and use "How this connects to your classes" for the PLTW and WebXam detail.
The Craniofacial Research Track
A year-long case: how a face comes together, what can interrupt it, and how close we are to correcting it early.
Baby Mateo
Mateo was born with a cleft on the left side of his lip that reaches up into his nose, and an opening in the roof of his mouth.
Mateo is a composite patient, built from the published science so we can study the whole story without using anyone's private information. Across the year we follow his case from the first weeks of development, to the genes and cells that build a face, to the public data scientists actually use, to the gene-correction research happening now, and finally to the team of people who care for him. Our job is not just to learn the science. It is to ask the questions a research lab would ask, and to design experiments of our own.
Our big question: How does a face come together before birth, what can interrupt it, and how close are we to correcting it early?
One case, four classroom lenses
Every class enters the same case at a different focus, and each one teaches a real public-database skill. The track itself meets through the year (a January and February intensive on the fix), and lives with HOSA.
The developing face, weeks 4 to 12. What a cleft is, gene to protein basics, IRF6 as a gene with a job, and a first look at how gene correction could one day help.
The molecular cause. IRF6, TGFB3, CDH3, MSX1, and TBX22; inheritance and Van der Woude syndrome; and the CRISPR-Cas9 mechanism in depth.
The cell-fate master switch (cranial neural crest to bone and cartilage), palatal shelf fusion mechanics (EMT and MEE apoptosis), and the hearing link from palate muscles to the middle ear.
Synthesize the case, then develop your own research questions, design experiments, implement where possible, and present.
The Case Opens
SeptemberMeet Mateo, the developing face, and what a cleft is.
The Master Switch
OctoberThe neural crest cells that build the face, and the decisions that set their fate.
The Molecular Cause
NovemberGenes, mutations, and how a cleft can run in a family.
Reading the Evidence
DecemberThe public databases scientists actually use: NCBI, BLAST, AlphaFold, ClinVar.
The Fix
January (intensive)CRISPR-Cas9, in-utero correction, animal models, and the ethics of editing.
The Whole Patient
FebruaryHearing, feeding, speech, the surgical timeline, and the team that cares for Mateo.
Your Own Research
March to MayTurn the case into your own question, design an experiment, and present it. (Delivered as the BI capstone.)