How Scientists Study Biology

Course Description

The goal for this course is to allow students to experience the hands-on aspects of biology research and appreciate the diverse nature of research in biology.

During this one-week course, students will complete a blend of classroom and hands-on research experiences in the field of biology. The focus will be on giving students the experience of conducting a biology research experiment from beginning to end. The course will be run by a diabetes researcher from the Bruin lab at Carleton University and students will have the opportunity to participate in biomedical research experiments in the Bruin lab space. Students will be help formulate a biomedical research question relating to diabetes and cell biology and then work collaboratively in small groups to conduct in hands-on in lab experiments. Students will be exposed to research techniques such as microscopy, immunohistochemistry, gel electrophoresis, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The in-lab component of this course will start on Day 2 when students will learn the necessary skills to conduct experiments. On days 3 and 4 students will spend the majority of their day in the research lab conducting aspects of the multiple different techniques listed above. To supplement the laboratory work, students will engage in workshops to discuss the necessary background information to understand their hands-on experiments and the experiment outcomes. The week will end with an informal discussion on the highlights and challenges of conducting biology research.
Additionally, researchers from multiple different fields in biology will be brought in as guest speakers to discuss their research throughout the week. This will allow students to talk to a variety of different scientists and learn about the many fields of biology research. Students will also be given tours of multiple research locations such as the Carleton University greenhouses, ecology research labs and insect biology research labs. Students will be able to see many different research facilities and interact with researchers across broad disciplines in biology.
Learning outcomes: By participating in this course, students will be able to:
1. Understand the diverse nature of biology research being conducted at Carleton University
2. Understand the planning and implementation of a biology research question
3. With guidance, conduct biomedical research experiments using techniques such as microscopy, immunohistochemistry, gel electrophoresis, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
Schedule:
Day 1: Course overview and mandatory laboratory safety training
Day 2: Guest research talk, how to design a biology research question workshop, conducting biology research experiment workshop, in lab basics overview.
Day 3: In lab research day #1
Day 4: In lab research day #2
Day 5: Guest research talks, lab tours, class reflection"