Day in the Life of a Scientist
We’re committed to inspiring the next generation of medical researchers.
Our Day in the Life of a Scientist program gives students in years 10-12 an opportunity to get hands-on in a working laboratory alongside real scientists, giving them a taste of what a career in medical research could be like.
Over three hours, students will complete an experimental activity in our purpose-built education laboratory that aligns with the Queensland Senior Biology Syllabus. If you’ve got more time, you and your students can also take a guided tour of our facility, or catch a presentation from one of our world-leading researchers. We can accommodate two groups of up to 24 students each day.
You can choose from a 9am-12pm or 12pm-3pm session, but we’re happy to be flexible if you have specific timing requirements. Tours and presentations from researchers will add additional time to your day. We have onsite canteen facilities should you like to include a meal break in your visit.
To arrange a visit for your class, please submit a booking enquiry using the form below, listing up to three preferred dates.
The fee per class is $350 (ex GST). Schools with an ICSEA rating of less than 950 can request for a discounted rate of $50 (ex GST).
Our program can support up to two classes of 24 students per day (48 students in total). To manage two class groups, we run two shortened experimental sessions of 2.5 hours per class, with a break in between.
As we can only accommodate one class at a time, many schools opt to book a concurrent student session at The University of Queensland’s Integrated Pathology Learning Centre (UQ IPLC), which is located within walking distance of QIMR Berghofer. Class groups can swap between the two programs halfway through the day.
The IPLC program is free to attend and we can help you to coordinate a concurrent booking.
We provide all participating schools with a personalised Education Queensland risk assessment. Please note:
- No genetically modified or pathogenic organisms are used in our experiments;
- All experiments comply with PC1 guidelines and are no more dangerous than a high school laboratory;
- We provide students and teachers with all necessary protective equipment.
Experimental activities
Cell biology: Blood microscopy
Prepare blood samples for analysis under the microscope. Learn how to identify the cellular and non-cellular components of blood and use this to assess the presence of disease.
Understand how blood functions as a suspension, a mixture and a solution and find out the effects of changing the salt-water balance.
Students will separate blood using a centrifuge, prepare a blood smear and learn how to correctly use a microscope for blood analysis.
Disease: Antimicrobial drug discovery
Discover new drugs using fluorescence. Learn how scientists screen for natural antibiotics using bioassays, understand how fluorescence is used to measure microbial activity and find out about the role of positive and negative controls.
Students will set up and interpret a bioassay experiment to identify new antibiotics and will subculture bacteria using a lawn plate or streak plate method.
Immunology: Diagnosing Ross River virus
Diagnose Ross River virus using patient information and samples.
Learn about the innate and adaptive immunity of the human body and find out how doctors combine patient history with lab tests to arrive at a diagnosis.
Students will use a micro-pipette to accurately dispense liquids in the lab and will be able to conduct a mock ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test.
Genetics: DNA and inheritance
Examine genetic traits within a family using gel electrophoresis. Learn about the structure and location of genetic material in living cells and how polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to copy DNA sections.
Students will find out how gel electrophoresis allows DNA to be separated and visualised and how even non-functional genes convey information about inheritance.
More information
For more details on the individual experimental activities including learning intentions, please download our session information pack.
Booking a session
To arrange a visit for your class, please submit a booking enquiry using the form below, listing up to three preferred dates. To check available dates, please refer to our bookings calendar below:
Do you have any questions?
You can contact our Education Coordinators:
Dr Liam St Pierre (Mon-Wed) T: (07) 3362 0307
Dr Manuel Serrano Santos (Wed-Fri) T: (07) 3845 3919
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