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Building a Microbial Metaverse to Teach Health Sciences in VR with Visual and Kinesthetic Learning
Dr. Jane Harrington is the CEO and Co-founder of Med Micro Maps, a company developing virtual reality experiences to teach microbiology and infectious disease concepts.
Key Takeaways:
- Med Micro Maps uses VR to create immersive, mission-based games for life science learners to explore viruses and bacteria.
- The company's approach combines color-coding, 3D visualization, and gamification to make learning microbiology more engaging and accessible.
- Their VR experiences are designed to cater to visual and hands-on learners, who make up over 80% of students interviewed.
- Med Micro Maps integrates AI to personalize learning experiences and adapt content to individual user levels.
- The company is expanding beyond medical education to reach broader audiences interested in understanding microbes and health.
Dr. Harrington's journey began as a bench researcher and educator, recognizing the limitations of traditional microbiology education methods. Med Micro Maps evolved from her desire to make microbiology more accessible and engaging, especially as hands-on lab experiences became less common in educational settings.
The company's innovative approach uses a color-coded compass system to help learners understand different types of microbes and their characteristics. This visual method, combined with interactive 3D models in VR, aims to make complex concepts more intuitive and memorable.
Med Micro Maps has recently completed its National Science Foundation Phase One minimal viable product and participated in the ICORP Program, conducting extensive user research. This process led to a shift in their target audience, expanding from medical students to include a broader range of learners interested in life sciences.
About Dr. Jane Harrington.
Dr. Jane Harrington is the CEO/Co-Founder of MedMicroMaps and she is leading an innovative team to create an immersive microbial metaverse. Her life mission is to apply the knowledge acquired from her training as a bacteriology bench researcher with her decades of experience as a medical school educator to make microbiology fun and engaging for students of tomorrow.
After working at colleges in 4 different countries, the pandemic revealed the need for new teaching modalities for personalized learning, especially for bilingual and neurodivergent students.
By leveraging emerging technologies of AI & XR, Dr. Jane aims to revolutionize the learning experience for medical and nursing students by transporting the user to the nanometer perspective in the human body where they can play and talk with super-sized microbes.
A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.
At The Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.
In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.
If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.
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By Nathan C Bowser, Awesome Future StudioDr. Jane Harrington is the CEO and Co-founder of Med Micro Maps, a company developing virtual reality experiences to teach microbiology and infectious disease concepts.
Key Takeaways:
- Med Micro Maps uses VR to create immersive, mission-based games for life science learners to explore viruses and bacteria.
- The company's approach combines color-coding, 3D visualization, and gamification to make learning microbiology more engaging and accessible.
- Their VR experiences are designed to cater to visual and hands-on learners, who make up over 80% of students interviewed.
- Med Micro Maps integrates AI to personalize learning experiences and adapt content to individual user levels.
- The company is expanding beyond medical education to reach broader audiences interested in understanding microbes and health.
Dr. Harrington's journey began as a bench researcher and educator, recognizing the limitations of traditional microbiology education methods. Med Micro Maps evolved from her desire to make microbiology more accessible and engaging, especially as hands-on lab experiences became less common in educational settings.
The company's innovative approach uses a color-coded compass system to help learners understand different types of microbes and their characteristics. This visual method, combined with interactive 3D models in VR, aims to make complex concepts more intuitive and memorable.
Med Micro Maps has recently completed its National Science Foundation Phase One minimal viable product and participated in the ICORP Program, conducting extensive user research. This process led to a shift in their target audience, expanding from medical students to include a broader range of learners interested in life sciences.
About Dr. Jane Harrington.
Dr. Jane Harrington is the CEO/Co-Founder of MedMicroMaps and she is leading an innovative team to create an immersive microbial metaverse. Her life mission is to apply the knowledge acquired from her training as a bacteriology bench researcher with her decades of experience as a medical school educator to make microbiology fun and engaging for students of tomorrow.
After working at colleges in 4 different countries, the pandemic revealed the need for new teaching modalities for personalized learning, especially for bilingual and neurodivergent students.
By leveraging emerging technologies of AI & XR, Dr. Jane aims to revolutionize the learning experience for medical and nursing students by transporting the user to the nanometer perspective in the human body where they can play and talk with super-sized microbes.
A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.
At The Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.
In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.
If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.