Joanna Klein is a Hopkins HS Grad who completed her Ph.D. in Genetics at Iowa and then came to the UofM as a post doc fellow.  She has taught at the University of Northwestern - St. Paul for the last 12 years.
 
Joanna spoke about her Lake Johanna E. Coli Monitoring Project.  The purpose of the project is to monitor the lake for potential health risks of waterborne infectious diseases on recreational users of Lake Johanna.  E. Coli bacteria are normally present in our digestive tracts and are always present in lakes and streams because of waste from mammals and birds, storm water runoff and untreated sewage.  The concentration of E. Coli in lakes and streams is the best indicator of the potential for disease among those using the water for recreational purposes.  The maximum acceptable level of E. Coli is 235 bacteria per 100ml  and the maximum average level is 126 bacteria per 100 ml.  Joanna reported that these maximum levels have never been exceeded in the many years that she has been testing.  A couple of suggestions for minimizing the chance of disease from waterborne E. Coli were: Don't swim the day after a rainstorm and make sure pets don't defecate near shore or in beach areas.
 
Joanna also spoke about her work with the Science Research Institute (SRI) program.  The program was a collaboration between University of Northwestern and Concordia University - St. Paul.  The goal of this 5 week summer program was to increase high school student interest in S.T.E.M. subjects, especially in the inner-city.  The program involved faculty guided research projects where 4 to 5 high school students, and one college student mentor, designed and conducted hands-on studies.  Students would then report their findings in their regular high school classes in the following academic year.  The program also featured visits to biotech companies, student designed service/learning projects and a trip to the science museum.