BioQ News - April 2025

cath496
Apr 17
3 min read

Updated: Apr 22

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We’re back for 2025! And we’d love to see you

It’s been a busy start to the year and we are excited to share what science is happening at the BioQuisitive labs in Brunswick.

In this edition of BioQ News:

our community lab events - see what’s on this month
meet our BioQuisitive team members helping Melbourne teachers, and
take a sneak peak at our new lab projects underway!

What's on

Find out more about BioQuisitive events here.

Drop-in to our weekly Lab Nights. Curious about science? Come and join our team on Thursdays from 4pm to 7pm in the Brunswick lab for some hands-on lab time. Get stuck into cool science like how to use fungi power to make sustainable materials or explore how tiny bio-reactors can help scientists save time and money to get their experimental conditions just right.

Lab glassware giveaway - 17 April. If you teach science, drop by the BioQuisitive labs from 5pm and pick up some free lab glassware to help take your lessons to the next level! All you need is your Teacher ID or school email address. This giveaway is part of the Phoenix School Program.

Save the date - Biotech Bootcamp workshop 17 May. We’ll be holding our first Lab Academy workshop for 2025 on Saturday 17 May. It will be a full day of learning the biotech basics, hands-on science and getting to know some fellow science-lovers in your community. Details on our website soon.

Be first to discover unknown fungi species with MYCOmmunity. Did you know that most of what we know about fungi species in Australia was discovered by citizen scientists? In 2025, MYCOmmunity is training citizen scientists in DNA sequencing methods so that we can rapidly increase our knowledge of native fungi - an essential partners for plants and animals in our ecosystem. We’ll be working in the field and the BioQuisitive lab this year, so email mycommunity@myco.org.au if you would like to get involved!

BioQ weekly lab nights

Look what we’ve been up to on Thursday nights with our citizen scientists… The good news is that you can join in too! Drop by on a Thursday 4pm-7pm for some science fun. Read more on our website here.

Meet Jan & Emma

Are you a STEM teacher wanting science equipment? Jan Bjelic and Emma Burrows are the BioQuisitive team members for you!

Jan and Emma are our key contacts for the The Phoenix School Program - a Melbourne-based program that diverts scientific equipment from landfill and provides it free to schools in need.

Jan Bjelic is a passionate advocate for accessible, sustainable science, with a strong scientific background and a commitment to supporting researchers and biotech startups. He is a champion for community engagement and open access to scientific resources, believing in science as a collaborative and inclusive pursuit. Emma Burrows is a neuroscientist who loves connecting people with science and health research that can help them. She believes that collaboration and community engagement are powerful ways to catalyse change.

Our STEM library offers science equipment, lesson plans and teacher training to enrich science learning in the classrooms. They’d love to hear about how a program like this could help you tackle your biggest hurdles teaching science in the classroom. If you are a STEM teacher or educator interested in the Phoenix School Program, get in touch with Jan and Emma at info@bioq.org.au or sign up here to learn more. The Phoenix School program is having a glassware giveaway on Thursday 17 April 2025 at the BioQuisitive labs in Brunswick - read more here.