The course covers a range of topics and techniques within the exciting field of biomedical science, spanning essential skills in immunology, pathology, microbiology, molecular biology and more. Sessions are led by our highly skilled and experienced lecturers, there to help students develop their understanding of human disease and explore the plethora of opportunities available within the world of medical research.

The Biomedical Science course utilises our excellent lab facilities to allow students the opportunity to learn blood typing, microbiology and parasitology, bacterial culturing and assays including ELISA and PCR. Students will carry out their own work throughout, gaining vital hands-on experience that will be both a benefit to any application and their future careers.

The Biomedical Science course runs from 9:30am – 4pm for 5 consecutive days with an hour break for lunch. We teach at a low student to tutor ratio (8:1) meaning that students are supervised and encouraged throughout their course.

Day 1

Morning Session: Introduction to the Laboratory

Students will be introduced to the laboratory environment and given their own lab coats and bench space. They will begin their training with an overview of health and safety and the everyday use of laboratory equipment.

Afternoon Session: Blood Typing

This session introduces students to the key elements of immunology and pathology as a basis for the rest of the week. They will also get to put their pipetting skills into practise during the practical experiment.

Day 2

Morning Session: Microbiology and Parasitology

Introduction to microbiological practices and how to successfully maintain an aseptic environment. Students will spend the morning preparing reagents to grow their own bacterial stocks and learn how to operate an autoclave to sterilise their equipment and media.

Afternoon Session: Bacterial Culture and Microscopy Techniques

Employing the techniques learnt, students will prepare their bacterial cultures, learn about antibiotics and perform microscopy on pre-prepared slides.

The following morning, students will be able to perform a gram stain on their own bacterial stocks and analyse their plates prior to the ELISA session.

Day 3

Morning Session: ELISA

Introduces the importance of diagnostics and explores the use of antibodies and antigens as a method of diagnosing a tropical disease, whilst understanding the implications regarding treatment and transmission prevention.

Afternoon Session: ELISA Continued- Introduction to Research Project Design

Putting theory and practical skills from the morning session into practise, students will be taught about disease biomarkers and will design an ELISA experiment within the context of an academia-style research project.

Day 4

Morning Session: PCR and Its Applications

Understanding the range of applications of PCR and how scientists use this to collect data. PCR is a critical technique that can be applied to an endless number of biological molecules, understanding novel diseases, and utilised as a diagnostic tool.

Afternoon Session: PCR in Practice

Students will have the opportunity to carry out their own RT-qPCR and analyse their results, with guidance from an expert within the field. By this stage, students will be able to piece together how the individual skills they’ve learnt can be utilised in parallel to answer exciting and novel research questions, impacting the future of biomedical science.

Day 5

Morning Session: Journal Club/Presentations

Students will have the option to host a journal club or prepare a short presentation on a topic relevant to something they’ve learnt and enjoyed throughout the week. They will have the opportunity to showcase their passions and develop key transferable skills in critical thinking and public speaking, both of which are highly valued within biomedical research.

Afternoon Session: Careers and CV Workshop

Aiding students’ understanding of the extensive prospects within academia, industry and more. An opportunity to dissect and discuss their own career goals and learn how to present themselves as strong candidates during applications.

• Students must be studying a minimum of A-Level Biology or Chemistry.
• The course supports university and work experience applications, as almost all universities and employers now require previous laboratory experience before considering an applicant.

During this 5-day course, students will learn skills beneficial for any university application including:

• Work safely in a laboratory environment
• Perform blood typing
• Pipette effectively
• Ensure proper aseptic technique
• How to operate an autoclave
• How to grow bacterial stocks for lab use
• Perform microscopy
• Perform a Gram stain
• Utilise an ELISA assay to diagnose disease
• Carry out an RT-qPCR assay and analyse results

Time is given throughout the course for students to gain a proper understanding of the skills being taught with an opportunity to redo anything that has not been understood at any point.