Babraham Institute Schools Day

On Thursday 2nd March, I had the pleasure of accompanying five Year 12 students, Gwen, Jessie, Mari, Lydia and Pipe to the Babraham Institute for their annual Schools’ Day event, where students from different schools have the opportunity to participate in research projects led by researchers. I could tell you how it is a wonderful opportunity for our students, but I would rather let them be centre stage and share some of their reflections on this day.

Sarah Triki-Teurtroy - Teacher of Biology

Pipe:

“When I arrived, I saw a large and beautiful biology research institute, which I didn't even know existed in Cambridge. After an overview of the history of the institute, we were sent to our different projects. Mine was ‘Bioinformatics – Using Multiomics to understand biological systems’. Obviously it wasn’t lab based. We did two activities, ‘Looking at Single Cell Separated ATAC-SEQ data’ & ‘Identifying Population in Single Cell RNASeq Data’. The latter aim at identifying the type of white blood cells in a blood sample using a computational program. As each type of white blood cells will express some signature genes more highly than others, we can use computational programs to help us group.

From these two activities, I’ve learned so many things about Bioinformatics such as: how to use specialised programs to analyse biological data, which I didn’t have the opportunity to before. Some of these programs and databases can be accessed for free and I am looking forward to using these programs myself. I also had the opportunity to ask questions that I've been curious about. Whether it was about the activities itself or about other matters such as the life and work of researchers in this field and beyond, the researchers were willing to answer questions and teach us with a smiling face. That's what I like. I must say that this event was an activity that made me learn many new things and gave me the opportunity to try new things that I had never done before. Thank you for organising such activities!”

Gwen:

“I participated in the same project as Pipe, ‘Bioinformatics’ – Using Multi-omics to understand biological systems. I am very interested in the software that we used to analyse the data. They have a friendly interface for the user’s experience, various adjustments of parameters, and capabilities to analyse data with complicated algorithms. These properties make me curious about how I can build these kinds of programs myself especially for analysing imaging data. So I ask the lead researcher about these programs. In a nutshell, the main points of building an effective program is the disclosure of the data used in the algorithm, quality control to maintain the reliability of the program, and error identification. Furthermore, I discussed with the researchers on how the analysis can make sure that the genes will be expressed to proteins in the white blood cell. The way she answered my question shows me a lot of how ambitious she is in her research. This makes me even more enthusiastic about my goal of pursuing a research engineering career. I realise that there are many skills I must develop in order to achieve this goal. My plan is to start by looking into open software for imaging research and try to apply them to my ongoing MRI project. Thank you so much for this marvellous opportunity!”

Jessie:

“My project was ‘Genomics and Fruit DNA’, which focused on extracting and sequencing DNA from genomic material in the genetic library using top of the art sequencers, such as the Hamilton NGS Star, MiSeq, and NextSeq 500 sequencing machines. In parallel to the project, I realised that being a researcher who works in a science institute is very different from what I had imagined. For instance, if you work as a sequencing specialist, you would need to collect a sample from colleagues, analyse the sequence, and then give a report of the data to the bioinformatics team so they can compare the results with the DNA database.

A science institute is more like an assembly line, every group has their own topic to work on but they also help out others. For a researcher, good teamwork skills are crucial. Science researchers are extremely independent; they may schedule their own time and choose their daily activities, but the entire institute must cooperate. And for the research community to advance, various research organisations must cooperate.”

Lydia:

“I was assigned to the Imaging Facility group, where we had the opportunity to use an electron microscope to view human hairs and face masks under an electron microscope. To begin with, we took small samples of our own hair and stuck them onto a small disc called a carbon pin stub. The scientist leading the morning explained to us the great expenses that come with scientific work, as even just one of the tiny carbon pin stubs we were using cost £6. We then used a machine to coat the samples in a fine layer of platinum, which would improve the visibility of the microscope image. We placed the disc with all the carbon pin stubs into the airlock, and the monitor displayed the sample that was under the microscope lens itself. We used the keyboard to look at different samples and increase the magnification, contrast and resolution of the image on the monitor. In particular, we viewed our own hair cells and learnt about how the body grows individual hairs and what happens to hair cells when they are exposed to stressors like radiation and hair bleach.

Finally, we viewed a mosquito that had been pre-prepared by the scientists beforehand. Specifically, we chose to magnify the mosquito's eyes, and we saw how it had its rods and cones on the exterior of its eyes, compared to most mammals who have rods and cones at the back of their eye on their retina. Overall, the day was very interesting. It was fantastic to be able to use an electron microscope in real life after learning about them in class, and I learnt a lot about what it is like to work in a research facility and investigate new scientific leads.”

Mari:

“My project focused on molecular biology: the cut and paste of biology. In this project I was able to try using micropipettes to add restriction enzymes and dye to DNA, which would then be analysed using gel electrophoresis. We also had a look at some of the microscopes that are used, and were introduced to the types of cells that were being cultured in the lab.

I’ve gained a lot of valuable insight into what research is currently being done in the field of molecular biology, how a career in research might look like and what a lab environment is like. I’ve also learned more about cell signalling and how the research into programmed cell death (apoptosis) can help create more effective cancer treatments. This was a rewarding experience that helped me further solidify my interest in the field of molecular biology and I really enjoyed learning and being able to try out new practical techniques.

After the project there was a careers talk. On top of learning more about career pathways after A Levels, I realised that career pathways can change and so it is important to gain more experience and broaden my knowledge to find a career that suits me and I will have an interest in.”