ITHACA, N.Y. — One Cathedral School science teacher traded in the beach for the science lab this summer, and she’s sure her students will benefit in the long run.

Denise Thibodeaux spent the last two weeks at Cornell University’s Institute for Biology Teachers.

An area Cornell alumna — Anita Cliburn at Copiah-Lincoln Community College — made the trip possible for Thibodeaux.

“Anita went to the conference last year, and part of the program is that Dr. (Mike) Yerky comes to your school to have a lab,” Thibodeaux said. “When I saw it, I decided it was worth giving up two weeks of my summer to go.”

Thibodeaux had to have an alumni — Cliburn — write a recommendation letter, and she went through a lengthy application process.

But from there her experience has been incredible, she said.

The teachers at the institute have spent time learning about recent research, high-tech equipment and doing hands on work.

“It has probably been the greatest professional experience of my life,” she said. “This has made me a better teacher because I learned a lot about molecular biology. Molecular biology and DNA are the future. I can now help my students going into the medical field be better informed.”

Thibodeaux also contributed to ongoing scientific research herself by bringing squash bugs from Mississippi to the university.

“Our squash bugs are positive for this parasite, Wolbachia,” she said.

The DNA from the insect will be used in further testing in a new research program, which may lead to the development of a new insecticide, she said.

Yerky — Cornell’s outreach instructor — will come to Cathedral in January to lead Thibodeaux’s Biology II class in the research program.

“(The students) are excited just collecting the insects,” she said. “When they find out they are taking it a step forward and participating in a national study they are going to get really excited.”

One of the areas of research that Thibodeaux said she was excited about was a program Dr. Jonathan Butcher is working on and inviting student participation.

“We are going to participate,” she said. “It is a program they are working on to use cells from people to create replacement organs for the person involved.

“Right now they are only working on heart valves in cows. But the implications for this later on are really amazing — we can avoid using embryo cells.”

Thibodeaux was also able to network with other science instructors at the institute.

“I found out that if you send (Cold Spring Harbor Labs) a cheek swab, they will sequence your DNA for you,” she said. “I’m going to have my students do this so they can learn about their ancestry.”

But perhaps the biggest perk for Cathedral in Thibodeaux’s Cornell experience is yet to come.

The teacher can now request to borrow kits that include research equipment from Cornell University for her labs at Cathedral.

“One of the machines we will be able to use costs $4,000,” she said. “Cathedral can’t purchase that, but now we can borrow it.”

Thibodeaux said she has a binder with 25 lab activities, each with a kit she can borrow from the university.

“Dr. Laurel Southard, the program director, has been very generous in letting a Mississippi school participate in this program, because it is a long way to send the kits.”

Thibodeaux said she is glad she was able to attend the institute because this opportunity could help get her students excited about the field of science.

“There will also be alumni weekends, and we are invited to bring our top students,” she said. “They get to participate in the Ivy League school’s undergraduate programs, and they could get exposed to scientific research that few get to experience.”