Outreach Mission

The outreach mission of the Department is to enhance knowledge of various aspects of cell and developmental biology. Our outreach efforts encompass working with schools, including inviting students to tour our campus; experiment with a computer-based three-dimensional human; witness active scientific research; and learn about scientific advances that happen because of such research. Our faculty also mentors teachers, and the department assists in the ethical procurement of donated bodies. 

Center for Human Simulation

The Center for Human Simulation (CHS) is a synthesis of human anatomy and computed three-dimensional imaging. This synthesis provides a three-dimensional, high resolution database of human male and female anatomy (the Visible Human) as derived from direct analysis of anatomical specimens and radiological imaging.  These powerful teaching tools are widely used with students ranging from grade school to medical residents, postdoctoral fellows, and physicians to train in many aspects of anatomy, from an introductory course to simulated surgery.

A Guided Tour of the Visible Human 

High School Outreach

The Department hosts a unique one-day high school outreach program for local schools for a day of scientific learning through interactive demonstrations. The outreach consists of a morning and an afternoon session at the Anschutz campus that allows more than 100 junior/senior level high school students and their teachers to visit labs, participate in hands-on activities, and learn more about biomedical research. More than seventy high schools along the Front Range are invited to attend this event each year.   

Public School Teacher Outreach

CDB Faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and students host Denver Public Schools (DPS) middle school teachers during a summer internship program, made possible by a grant from the Colorado Department of Education. DPS science teachers gain a realistic perspective about the processes of scientific research by participating with hands-on activities in lab, such as technical reading and writing, lab safety and how to give scientific presentations.