CARLOW Center for Medical Innovation

Medical Careers Pathway Program

The CARLOW Center for Medical Innovation is open to students interested in various fields in healthcare. In the program, each student will gain valuable experience that will give them a foundation for higher education programs in Pre-Med, Biological and Medical Anthropology, Biochemistry, and Medical Engineering. Students enrolled in the pathway program at the Center for Medical Innovation will be given the opportunity to participate in community networking, career counseling, job shadowing, and student research in partnership with Shriners Hospital for Children® and other local organizations.




What Will I Study:

The CARLOW Medical Center will teach you the basics first, giving you a solid foundation to expand upon, eventually leading to you doing your research along with more challenging coursework to prepare you for graduation.


    Skills Lab:
    These labs and workshops offer hands-on learning experiences where students practice essential skills in real-life medical scenarios

    • CPR/AED
    • First Aid
    • Gathering Patient Medical History
    • Vital Signs
    • Medical Emergency Management
    • Splinting Broken Bones
    • Managing Spinal Injuries
    • Advanced Patient Care


    PCC Dual Enrollment:
    Director Elizabeth Parga, a certified adjunct professor at Pasadena Community College, will teach all classes in the CARLOW Center.

    • Introduction to Health Sciences
    • Medical Terminology
    • Human Disease
    • Health Information Technology
    • Pharmacology for Medical Assistants
    • Basic Physiology and Anatomy



    Center Facilities & Equipment

    The CARLOW Center is an innovative facility designed and modeled after leading universities and medical research institutions. This state-of-the-art center has been equipped with cutting-edge, industry-standard equipment, setting a new benchmark for high schools. It represents a commitment to providing students with hands-on experiences typically found in higher education and professional research settings.

    Acadicus Virtual Platforms

    Acadicus is an exciting virtual reality healthcare platform where students can experience clinical environments relevant to their future and receive extensive medical terminology, communication, and teamwork training across various healthcare environments. By bringing participants together, students will interact with patients and peers inside the VR scenario without the restraints of physical location. The Acadicus curriculum provides realistic trauma simulations to teach students to rely on their training, regulate their emotions, thoughts, and actions, triage patients, and practice complex skills to resolve traumatic medical situations. In addition to an expansive VR library of medical scenarios, this platform allows an instructor to quickly create additional healthcare scenarios most relevant to our students.

    Prostheses Center-Caring and Investing in State of the Art Scanners and 3D Printers

    Few things in life are harder than being born without a limb or losing a limb later in life. We have invested in high-end scanners and 3D printers to engineer and produce prosthetic arms, legs, hands, and feet to serve all those less fortunate who live life daily without. Young aspiring medical practitioners will become highly trained in the technical skills of the creation of artificial prostheses and consult with experts in the field to hone their skills in the design and application of each prosthetic. With great appreciation for those who served our country, our center will provide engineered prosthetics to help transform the lives of pediatric patients and honor the sacrifice of veterans.

    Anatomage Table-Delivering studies in functional Anatomy and Physiology

    Our State of Art 3D Anatomage table provides opportunities for our students to visualize human anatomy with the highest level of accuracy. This technology will transform the way kinesiology is taught and how students learn anatomy and physiology. Anatomage bodies provide active physiological responses inside a living human body, simulating and projecting the same responses one would experience in a research laboratory or clinical setting.

    SimpliAmp Thermal Cycler

    An instrument that precisely regulates and maintains preprogrammed temperature settings to facilitate temperature-sensitive reactions such as PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction- amplifies (copies) specific segments of DNA)

    QuantStudio 3 Real-Time PCR Machine

    The instrument is used to quantify levels of gene expression in real time. It is essentially a thermal cycler with the ability to quantify DNA or RNA after each cycle of PCR. Fluorophores are added to the reaction, allowing fluorescent sensors to detect fluorescence that corresponds to the generation rate of the PCR product. This data is then analyzed through software to determine relative gene expression.

    E-Gel Power Snap Electrophoresis System

    A device is used to separate DNA based on charge and size (bottom piece with orange tray). The top portion allows the user to visualize the separated DNA and capture an image.

    Zoe Fluorescent Cell Imager

    Fluorescent microscope that allows detection of fluorescently labeled antibodies that correspond to specific proteins.

    Biosafety Cabinet

    Sterile environment for tissue culture work. Prevents outside contamination of cells.

    TC Automated Cell Counter

    Counts mammalian cells automatically and excludes dead cells.

    Carbide Nomad 3

    Desktop Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine that can produce custom 2D and 3D parts for our robotics and prosthetics projects.

    Materials: Wood, plastic, aluminum, brass

    Our Partners


    Center Director
    Elizabeth Parga, M.S. Chemistry

    With a Master’s Degree in Chemistry and a Bachelor’s in Biology, Ms. Parga teaches a plethora of different science courses, including AP Biology, Human Anatomy, Forensic Science, Sports Medicine, and Chemistry. Before becoming an instructor, Ms. Parga worked in stem cell and cancer research at the City of Hope and Charles Drew School of Medicine. During her tenure in the lab, she became a published cancer research scientist with qualifications in cancer genomics and stem cell research and therapy. Her choice to transition into teaching came from her zeal for science and wanting to positively impact young lives. Her mission is to provide all the necessary resources, tools, and support to make each student competitive and successful in any science career. She can be reached at: eparga@lasallehs.org.



    The CARLOW Center for Medical Innovation at La Salle College Preparatory is generously funded by a grant from the Carrico Family Foundation.

    Prospective La Salle College Preparatory students contact the La Salle Admissions Office at admissions@lasallehs.org for additional information.

    DISCOVER LA SALLE

    La Salle College Preparatory was founded in 1956. Today, we are the only truly diverse and co-educational Catholic high school in Pasadena.