Crowley ISD officially announced a Project Lead The Way partnership with Kansas State University on a Thursday night in October 2013, at the district's Bill R. Johnson Career and Technical Education Center. District leaders called it a lucky day for students.
Project Lead The Way, or PLTW, is a national nonprofit that writes hands-on science and technology courses for schools. Its high school pathways cover engineering, computer science and biomedical science, and students work through real problems instead of only reading about them.
What the partnership meant for students
A university partner gave the district a link to college-level training and recognition for the courses. For students, it meant classes that count toward a career in engineering or health care while they are still in high school.
What a biomedical science class teaches about acne
Acne is one of the first real cases many biomedical students meet, because it is common and its biology is well mapped. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, acne starts in the hair follicle and its oil gland. Four things usually happen together:
| Step | What happens in the follicle | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Extra oil | Sebaceous glands make more sebum, often driven by androgen hormones | Shiny, oily skin |
| 2. Clogging | Dead skin cells stick together and plug the follicle opening | Blackheads and whiteheads |
| 3. Bacteria | Cutibacterium acnes, a normal skin bacterium, multiplies in the plug | Spots that turn red |
| 4. Inflammation | The immune system reacts around the follicle | Swollen pimples, nodules, cysts |
Not every breakout follows this script. Small, itchy, same-size bumps can come from a yeast, Malassezia, rather than from C. acnes, which is why fungal acne does not respond to the usual antibiotic creams. A 2018 review of C. acnes research in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology describes how different strains of the bacterium behave.