Team:McMasterU/Engagement
Discovery Day
Discovery Day is a day-long enrichment opportunity hosted by Hamilton Health Sciences and the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame for high school students. We had the opportunity to host two different workshops, each sixty minutes in length for 16 enthusiastic high school students. Our goal was to help these young students learn about the many aspects of science, potential careers in health science and help them develop fundamental lab skills while ensuring that they have fun! Together, the Wet lab and Community Outreach Team led two unique workshops, Gel Electrophoresis and Analysis & Bacterial Gram Staining, respectively. Each workshop emphasized the skills needed to master the techniques as well as possible applications (i.e., when would these techniques be needed and how can they be used as a tool to solve real world challenges).
Workshop Description
Workshop #1: DNA Gel Electrophoresis and AnalysisIn this workshop students will have hands-on experience loading and running DNA through a gel via electrophoresis, an important scientific technique. This was followed by a short investigation of the meaning of DNA digestion, as well as an opportunity for students to observe the effects through the gel.
The workshop consisted of these general parts:
- Lab safety
- Pipette training
- Scientific Background
- Running the gel
- Gel analysis
Workshop #2: Bacterial Gram Staining
In this workshop, students had hands-on experience in staining bacteria and distinguishing between different types of bacteria (Gram positive versus Gram negative) with the use of dyes. They were also able to explore and learn more about the mechanism behind the staining effect, what different stain results can say about the types of bacteria detected, and the importance of Gram staining in the fields of synthetic biology, health science and research applications.
The workshop consisted of these general parts:
- Lab safety
- Gram staining protocol
- Scientific Background & Biochemical Explanation
- Gram stain results analysis
- Applications to the world
Impact
In total, we presented our workshops to 73 people (8 teachers and 65 students) from secondary schools all across Ontario. We connected with both students and teachers, both of whom emphasized the need for more hands on learning in order to help students learn about the applications of concepts learned in class. One teacher even said:
- “Excellent workshop! Practical lab skills with a lot of support. I only wish I could take all my students to this to reinforce their learning."
Not only were we glad to hear this positive feedback from one of the educators, it also gave us an opportunity to begin discussing how we could implement these workshops in high schools in our community. Perhaps we could design similar workshops to help young students in high school learn more about the scientific process, develop important skills and help enforce the important learning that happens in classrooms.
Through this event, we were able to successfully showcase value and applications of synthetic biology, taught practical lab skills to students who otherwise would lack access to equipment and training, and hopefully inspired students to explore different paths in science. We look forward to implementing workshops and other events in our community to help students bridge the gap between knowledge learned in the classroom and the practical applications of this knowledge.
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive for both our workshops! We are glad that both the students and teachers enjoyed and learned valuable skills. Here is what some of our attendees said:
- “Mentors were amazing and it was a great opportunity for students to ask questions. The hands-on experience in the workshop was so valuable to them and they gained some really great lab skills.”
- “Was made to be very fun. I learned a lot as they explained the concepts very well. I really enjoyed that we got to take a picture of the various DNA samples home”
- “Presenters were extremely well-spoken. Very interesting and hands-on. Build upon concepts I had learned in school and really expanded my knowledge. Exceeded my expectations. Excited my interest in iGEM and programs I would not have considered earlier.”
This experience has allowed us to better understand how to effectively teach lab skills and their applications to young students. We look forward to continuing these workshops both at Discovery Day and and at local high schools in order to help foster a collaborative environment, to share the potential of synthetic biology and to help develop the next generation of leaders in Science!
oGEM Meetup (Ontario iGEM)
Members of oGEM 2017, Ontario’s chapters of iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) from Waterloo, McMaster, UofT, Queens, Ottawa, Guelph and Western.
Kitchener, Ontario - July 17th. This year’s oGEM annual meet-up was hosted by Waterloo iGEM. From speakers representing Ontario Genomics (oGEM’s primary sponsor) and startups, we received insight into current and future roles of synthetic biology. Also held were open discussions between teams about iGEM on topics ranging from how to build a good Wiki to collaboration opportunities to even science memes - dialogue which unleashed a cascade of helpful advice, funny stories and mutual lab-work oriented commiseration. The iGEM community spirit truly was present at oGEM 2017!
Following the speaker series and group discussions on Wikis and Wet Lab collaborations, we broke for lunch. What was even better than the food though, was connecting on a personal level with other iGEM members. oGEM this year has a very diverse set of chapters with varying levels of experience, thus leading to fresh perspectives on every aspect of running an iGEM team.
Born out of this difference in levels of team establishment came a collaborative initiative designed to guide newer iGEM teams, while also sharing knowledge and advice between more established chapters. The oGEM Manual is a multilaterally collaborative handbook on how to run an iGEM team. Covering everything from iGEM-specific information like how to fulfill medal criteria and make a Wiki, to meta-skills like team-building and leadership, to more technical aspects of running what is essentially a synbio start-up initiative such as grant-writing and sponsorships outreach, to the really technical such as how to design a plasmid and protocols for basic practical microbiology lab techniques, we hope that this guide will serve many iGEM teams well in the coming years.
After the lunch break (lobster soup, you will be sorely missed), the oGEM chapters presented their project. As seen from the photo above (featuring UofT iGEM representatives explaining their incredible project for designing an off-switch for CRISPR cas9), each team spent 15 minutes explaining and answering questions about their summer project via PowerPoint presentation, akin to how we will later present our findings at the November Giant Jamboree. Many different chapter aspects - Wet Lab, Dry Lab, Human Practices, Community Outreach and more - were covered and it was eye-opening to see the various creative ways each team approached their project. DNAzymes, yeast prions, ice-binding bacterial biofilms... these are just a handful of the inspiring, mind-blowing projects oGEM chapters have embarked on this year.
Several Q&A sessions, photo ops, collaboration discussions and a whirlwind tour through Waterloo’s iGEM lab later, and the day was up. With contact info exchanged, collaboration opportunities forged, and newfound friendships gained, we are excited to expand on oGEM projects in future seasons.
Until next time!
