Sarah Bordenstein was a high school teacher before she became a biologist, giving her a rare appreciation for the challenges inherent in making meaningful science education broadly accessible. She knows that research-focused professors often lack the time and funding to dedicate to outreach; she also knows that science educators often struggle to access essential resources. With The Wolbachia Project, she’s addressing those challenges from both angles.
Bordenstein, an associate research professor, came to University Park in 2022 with her husband, Seth; as director of The Wolbachia Project, she oversees outreach efforts that have impacted more than 13,000 students over the past 2 1/2 years. Bordenstein says that couldn’t have happened just anywhere. “Penn State’s land-grant mission falls in line with our research and outreach goals—it’s just a natural synergy,” she says. “The collaborative nature of Penn State has really allowed us to elevate our impact.”
The project, named for a genus of parasitic microbes discovered a century ago, is designed to enhance students’ interest in science by engaging them in real-world research. Bordenstein works directly with educators—about two-thirds are high school science teachers, while community college instructors and professors at other four-year universities make up the rest—to provide an authentic lab experience to students who otherwise wouldn’t have research opportunities in the classroom. (More than 10% of the partner educators are in Pennsylvania, but the project has a presence in 45 states and Washington, D.C.) The payoff, she hopes, is more students prepared for careers in fields like biotechnology and agricultural technology—students who otherwise might never have known such careers were possible.
“In order to recruit industry to Pennsylvania, you have to have the workforce, and I think this is a unique opportunity for Penn State to elevate the workforce in the state,” she says. “The [National Science Foundation] refers to these communities as the ‘missing millions’—students who could have successful careers in STEM but don’t have the resources. Just by giving them the awareness and experience at the high school level, we can transform their future.”
