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MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Julie Lajoie, an Immunologist and virologist based in Winnipeg, and research associate at the University of Manitoba who has studied HIV and the immune system for 20 years; she has some free time for class visits this year because she's on maternity leave taking care of her baby. Julie Lajoie was getting sick and tired of seeing and hearing adults fall for fake news about the vaccines. So, she decided to put a call-out at the start of the school year to offer volunteer class talks - from her perspective as an immunologist and virologist at the U of M - to educate youth on how their immune systems function and the role vaccines play in public health. To date, she has done a dozen class talks with students of all ages. Maggie sat in on a virtual session with fifth graders at a French elementary school in Thompson this week. This feature will be on her educational visit, the (sometimes unusual) questions students asked, and the goal of providing students with credible information from a woman in STEM. 211020 - Wednesday, October 20, 2021.