The Biomedical Research Education Program of Puerto Rico (BREP-PR), a Science Education Award Partnership (SEPA) program sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), introduced the second volume of the series comic book BioMEd Battle Team: Diabetic Danger at a press conference organized by the Press and Communications Office of the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus. The activity was held on April 21, 2006 and it was attended by reporters from the newspapers, radio, and television in Puerto Rico.
In "Diabetic Danger", the students accompany the BioMed Battle Team in a mission to improve the life of a young girl diagnosed with Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes. The reading introduces students to the causes, symptoms and side effects associated with diabetes, as well as the importance of diet and exercise in managing the condition. Innovative methods such as nanotechnology and stem cell research are presented in the story. The comic book also includes an interview with a Puerto Rican pediatric-endocrinologist to familiarize students with the work that clinical researchers in Puerto Rico are conducting in this area. The comic book targets middle school students.
Program Director, Dr. Emma Fernández-Repollet, BREP staff, and biomedical researcher Dr. Maria J Crespo participated in the press conference. Dr. Fernández Repollet explained to the press the goals of the BREP program as well as the importance of the BioMed Battle Team comic book series as an informal education tool to attract young students to a biomedical research career.
The BREP Program thanks Ms. Beatriz Quiñones Vallejo and Ms. Miried González Rodríguez from the Press and Communications Office for the time and effort they dedicated to the organization of this special event.
