The World Virus Community (GVN), in partnership with the College of South Florida (USF) Youth Experiences and Hillsborough County Public Colleges STEM Division, lately concluded its inaugural “World Guardians: Youth for Pandemic Preparedness” summer season camp, an immersive, hands-on expertise that introduced collectively a few of Tampa’s brightest highschool college students with internationally famend virologists, public well being specialists, and scientists.
“This camp exhibits our college students that science is a residing, evolving area with real-world influence,” stated Catherine White, EdD, supervisor of Ok–12 STEM within the Educational Companies Division of Hillsborough County Public Colleges. “By giving them entry to main scientists, superior laboratories, and hands-on investigations, we’re not simply instructing content material, we’re igniting curiosity and empowering them to see themselves because the problem-solvers and innovators our future will depend upon.”
Held July 23–25, 2025, the three-day program welcomed 14 highschool college students in grades 9–12 to discover the science of pandemics by way of a collection of interactive periods, laboratory and hospital excursions, demonstrations, and collaborative group actions. Members examined matters equivalent to virus transmission, outbreak detection, media misinformation, and profession paths in virology, guided by specialists from the GVN, USF, Tampa Basic Hospital, and varied models of the Florida Division of Well being.
“It was inspiring to see such curiosity and focus from these college students,” stated Robert C. Gallo, MD, worldwide scientific director and co-founder of the GVN. “This era will inherit the accountability of pandemic prevention. We should put together them early, truthfully, and with scientific integrity.” Dr. Gallo, who’s most generally recognized for his co-discovery of HIV as the reason for AIDS, can also be the James P. Cullison Professor of Drugs, director of the Institute of Translational Virology and Innovation on the USF Well being Morsani Faculty of Drugs, and director of the Microbial Oncology Program at Tampa Basic Hospital Most cancers Institute.
Hosted in partnership with USF at GVN’s worldwide headquarters, this system emphasised each schooling and empowerment. College students engaged straight with virus hunters, epidemiologists, and lab scientists, participated in simulated outbreak investigations, and practiced placing on full private protecting tools in a mock BSL-3 lab.
I’m so grateful to the World Virus Community for giving this gifted group of scholars a chance to think about their futures as the subsequent era of science explorers and learners. I count on that this expertise will put a few of these college students on a path to change into leaders in public well being and virology. Kudos to the Hillsborough County Public Colleges STEM Division, our USF Youth Experiences crew, and USF Well being school, together with GVN’s Dr. Bob Gallo, for making time to organize our future ‘international guardians.'”
Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, Government Vice President, College of South Florida
He’s the dean of the Morsani Faculty of Drugs.
Dr. Lockwood can also be government vp and chief educational officer at Tampa Basic Hospital.
Highlights of the camp included:
- A dwell dialogue with Dr. Gallo, who shared insights from his early experiences as a younger scientist, reflections on novel virus discoveries, and addressed the influence of scientific misinformation. He inspired college students to “observe your ardour and pursue reality.”
- An immersive tour of Tampa Basic’s CareComm, a state-of-the-art command middle for affected person security and hospital effectivity.
- Palms-on demonstrations of viral transmission, diagnostic testing, and vector surveillance, led by specialists in virology, entomology, and public well being.
- Classes on media literacy and misinformation, difficult college students to suppose critically within the age of digital noise.
- A closing ceremony the place every pupil acquired a certificates of completion recognizing their participation within the inaugural World Guardians program.
College students described this system as “life-changing,” “eye-opening,” and “probably the most partaking expertise I’ve ever had in science.” One participant mirrored, “I actually liked all the excursions and the lectures. All the pieces felt very properly organized, and it was extraordinarily enjoyable,” referring to the combo of hospital excursions, superior lab visits, and hands-on experiments. One other pupil shared, “I appreciated once we had the illness detectives lesson,” recalling the simulated outbreak investigation that inspired teamwork, problem-solving, and knowledge evaluation.
For some, the camp solidified profession ambitions. “The camp has strengthened my curiosity in pursuing a profession within the medical area,” stated one pupil, whereas one other added, “It modified my opinion about medical college; now I am curious about going.” Even these nonetheless deciding felt a renewed sense of route, with one participant noting, “Nothing has modified, but it surely has positively pushed me extra towards the schooling I would like.”
This system’s hands-on strategy resonated deeply with the scholars, who investigated real-world public well being knowledge, dissected misinformation, and practiced outbreak modeling utilizing mapping instruments and case knowledge. Additionally they toured superior analysis labs, together with USF’s Middle for World Well being and Inter-Disciplinary Analysis, the Florida Division of Well being Bureau of Public Well being Laboratories, and the Hillsborough County Well being Division.
“One of many causes we based the World Virus Community was to handle the shrinking pipeline of scholars getting into the sphere of virology,” added Dr. Gallo. “Applications like this are important to spark early curiosity and construct the subsequent era of scientists who might help the world put together for future pandemics.”
Constructing on the success of the pilot, GVN plans to increase the World Guardians initiative to incorporate college students from throughout the state of Florida subsequent 12 months and internationally the 12 months after, broadening entry to virology schooling and galvanizing a extra various pipeline of future scientists and public well being professionals. Just like different comparative, merit-based packages, GVN intends to offer scholarships to members for aggressive purposes.