LabCentral was home to all generations of scientists today: from the very young to the very experienced.

In the playroom, teams of eager middle schoolers were working to solve their med-hack challenges. This program is sponsored by Youth Cities and brings together 25 middle school children from all over Massachusetts and some very experienced mentors from Harvard Hospitals, large medical device companies and drug makers. Students were working on cool solutions, for example a special vest for children in the emergency room or hospital setting. It is furry and looks like a teddy bear - this helps lower childrens' fear in the ER. The vest is equipped to take vital signs through built-in sensors. Another group was working on a wearable sensor that helps junior athletes avoid knee injuries by measuring excessive stress and alerting the athlete early. 

At the same time in our lobby, Dr. Debbie Dunsire gave an inspiring lecture about her personal experience developing drugs to an eager audience of entrepreneurs and scientists. Dr. Dunsire's talk was part of our Foley&Lardner "Wizards in Science" series.