Looking to upskill? Join us for our May workshop on synthetic biology fundamentals

If you’re passionate about science solutions to real-world environmental challenges, come and join BioQuisitive co-founder, Andrew Gray, on 17 May for our first Lab Academy workshop for 2025. 

Event details

LET’S GLOW CRAZY! Lab skills for beginners

BioQ Lab Academy workshop

Saturday 17 May, 2025

10.00am - 2.00pm 

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This sounds cool! What can I learn at the workshop?

In this hands-on, small group workshop at the BioQuisitive civic science lab, Andrew will take you through the lab essentials step-by-step, learning how to harness glowing biological proteins like green fluorescent protein (GFP) that can be used to detect pollutants in the environment. 

How can glowing proteins help the environment?

Fluorescent biological molecules like GFP can be used as a rapid, visual read-out of the presence of contaminants in the soil and waterways. You’ll learn lab techniques to develop living, glowing indicators that help communities track pollution, see if remediation efforts are working, and safeguard ecosystems.

I haven’t worked in a lab before - can I attend the workshop? 

Yes, you can! This workshop is designed for beginners in the lab, and would also be suitable for people looking to expand their toolkit.

At the workshop you can:

Use biological fluorescence for real-world impact

Explore how GFP-based sensors can detect heavy metals, pollutants, or nutrient levels in soil and water—laying the groundwork for environmental monitoring tools that can be used in the field.

Learn DNA and bacteria handling for synthetic biology

Mix growth media from scratch, grow healthy bacterial cultures for environmental biosensing, introduce plasmid DNA into bacteria transforming them with the genetic switch to be a biosensor.

Build and refine core lab practices

Pipetting small volumes with precision, aseptic and technique and sterile handling, setting up your electronic lab notebook for professional record-keeping.

About Andrew Gray, your workshop host

Andrew Gray is Director and co-founder of BioQuisitive. Through BioQ, CoLabs and his many other endeavours, he is dedicated to making innovation and science more accessible for the public, students, and biotech startups.

Find Andrew on LinkedIn