Cardiff Sixth Form College student Lin Qian attended a 5 day ‘Laboratory Skills’ course in October 2019. She worked with a mixed group of students (UK and international) in the Infectious Disease lab and gained a plethora of laboratory skills in different areas of biology.
For the first two days in the laboratory, Lin took part in a range of tasks including utilizing molar calculations to prepare a stock solution, serial dilutions and understanding the importance of COSHH. She was then able to confidently apply these skills to take part in a nanotoxicology session where she investigated the effect of toxic nanomaterials on lung macrophage cells.
Lin became more independent in her laboratory work, taking part in a microbiology session using aseptic technique to prepare her own nutrient broth and agar to inoculate with a range of microorganisms; Lin was able to successfully grow her own bacterial plates. She used the plates to investigate the effects of both natural antimicrobials and commercial antibiotics and took part in a gram stain. In an immunology session, Lin and her fellow colleagues utilized an ELISA test to successfully detect specific proteins within control samples.
Lin had the opportunity to give a formal presentation for her peers and some of the BioGrad lecturing staff. Using her newly acquired knowledge from her time spent in the laboratory, Lin based her presentation on antibiotic resistance. She was able to expand on her knowledge from the lab, incorporating her own research to deliver a detailed and knowledgeable talk.
Lecturers commented on Lin’s fantastic laboratory skills and, in particular, the data produced from her ELISA. They had no doubt that Lin will succeed in her chosen career and would happily welcome her back to the laboratory in the future.
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