Bishop Noll’s Ms. Rebecca Dostatni, science department chair, is bringing a new course to students interested in pursuing biomedical engineering. Principles of Biomedical Science will be added to the STEM curriculum next fall.

   According to Dostatni, Mrs. Pastrick, principal, has been wanting to add this course as a way to open up the STEM curriculum to more Bishop Noll students and requested Dostatni teach the class. Dostani, who has a master’s in biology, is also very passionate about biology and helping students find a career in the field.. 

   “I’m excited to add another hands-on course to our BNI curriculum. This type of course is project-based and will continue to enhance our STREAM curriculum. I’m ready to try something new again,” Dostatni said.

   This class would benefit students that plan on studying or one day becoming doctors, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists. Dostani hopes that students will take advantage of this class that many other schools don’t offer. 

   “As much as I hope some of my students will become scientists, I always love preparing them for the medical, nursing, or other healthcare fields. I think it’s important that all students gain more knowledge about how to use the scientific method in their thought process and daily life decisions, so I’m always happy to reach more students with another science course,” she said.

   The Principles of Biomedical Science class, which is part of the Project Lead the Way network, will focus more on health and diseases and the medical side of biology, and focus less on the cellular/molecular side. Students will study the human body system and its reactions to health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, sickle-cell disease, and certain infections. Students can then determine factors that lead to death and investigate the treatments or lifestyle changes necessary to prolong life. 

“I think the more we know about how our body works, the more empowered we will be about making some of our own healthcare decisions when discussing them with our doctors. Biology, medicine, and healthcare in general is not a good thing to be ignorant of as a human,” she said.

    Dostatni  has already taken courses at Purdue that has prepared her to teach this course, and she hopes that Purdue will contribute to this program also. She will be attending a two-week training this summer and she plans on brainstorming all summer to create the course curriculum.. 

   Principles of Engineering will be offered to students who have passed with high marks in Biology I.