MiniMed School is a series of free public lectures by School of Medicine faculty. The public affairs office also maintains a speakers' bureau which is a list of School of Medicine faculty who have agreed to give 30-minute presentations for local civic and community groups. Call public affairs and ask for the MiniMed School Speakers' Bureau brochure for a list of speakers and topics. Dr. Rob Rockhold, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology, is the program's coordinator. Base Pair students, selected for their interest and aptitude in science, meet at UMC four afternoons a week for a semester.
Students spend three afternoons a week working individually in the laboratory with the mentor.
One afternoon is reserved for a group meeting with Dr. Rockhold where the week's laboratory experience and outside reading are discussed. The students learn laboratory and research skills, scientific documentation and presentation. The mentors also encourage students to present abstracts at the annual Mississippi Academy of Sciences meeting. The program actually begins first semester in the home school where teachers prepare students for the next semester at the Medical Center. Students receive academic credit for their participation in Base Pair while they get a real taste of the life of the scientist.