The Laboratory Skills and Microbiology course is designed and delivered by real scientists to provide university science participants, graduates and postgraduates with an opportunity to gain hands on experience using real laboratory equipment.

This intensive training provides a unique opportunity to develop essential laboratory techniques, gain real-world experience, and boost employability in the fields of microbiology, biomedical science, and related disciplines. At BioGrad, we are dedicated to bridging the gap between academia and industry. Our state-of-the-art laboratories and expert-led training programmes provide participants with an unparalleled opportunity to develop real-world skills and gain a competitive edge in their careers.

The Laboratory Skills and Microbiology (5 Days) programme runs from 9:30am – 4pm for 5 consecutive days with a 1-hour break for lunch. We teach at a very low participant to tutor ratio meaning that participants are supervised and encouraged throughout their course.

The course content is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate participants who wish to gain a solid foundation in laboratory skills and gain a better understanding of certain laboratory procedures, including Health and Safety, Aseptic Technique, PCR and ELISA. It is also ideal for more mature learners who are looking to retrain in science or as a taster of what laboratory work is like.

We ask participants to design their own experiments and allow participants to make (safe) mistakes to learn from them. This helps participants to develop independent research skills and gain confidence in their own ability in the laboratory.

Day 1 – Laboratory Induction:

Participants are inducted into the laboratory and taught about laboratory health and safety, including how to complete risk assessments and COSHH documentation. Participants learn to prepare stock solutions using molarity calculations and use a balance to obtain the mass of chemicals. In the afternoon session, participants learn how to measure pH as well as how to perform serial dilutions and then use absorbance data to plot a standard curve.

Day 2 – PCR:

Participants perform PCR and use a Nanodrop Spectrophotometer to quantify DNA purity. Participants then prepare PCR reactions and subsequently use gel electrophoresis to detect & visualise their PCR product.

Day 3 – Microbiology I:

Participants learn aseptic technique & how to culture E. coli and B. subtilis in nutrient broth, as well as spread & streak agar plates. Participants investigate the effects of natural antimicrobials and pharmaceutical antibiotics, and culture bacteria from genetic model organism strains.

Day 4 – Microbiology II and Immunology:

During the morning session, participants perform Gram staining on bacteria from their cultures and observe stained bacteria under the microscope, followed by analysis and discussion of microbiology results. In the afternoon session, participants gain an in-depth understanding of immunology and process a set of clinical samples using ELISA as a diagnostic assay to diagnose patients with an infectious disease. Participants use a plate reader to create a standard curve and analyse their results. Participants are asked to consider their experimental design including how to decide on replicates and suitable experimental controls.

Day 5 – Participant Presentations, Career Development Workshop and Certifications:

Participant Presentations

At the end of the course participants can present one of their experiments to the rest of the group in a formal presentation session. The audience can ask questions, providing an opportunity for participants to showcase what they have learned during the week.

Career Development Workshop

Participants attend a networking session with BioGrad scientists where they get the chance to discuss the many career paths within science and how to gain research experience. This allows allow participants to build on laboratory experience gained during this course and further their scientific careers.

Participants attending this course are expected to have some level of previous laboratory experience, therefore, you may be asked to complete a questionnaire prior to the commencement of your course to ensure you are able to meet the required competencies.

If you do not yet possess the necessary laboratory skills, you must attend our 1 day ‘Introduction to Laboratory Skills’ course before commencing this course.

During this 5-day course, participants learn transferable skills suitable for any laboratory work:

• Completing COSHH risk assessment for any chemical independently.
• Performing molarity calculations.
• Using a balance to weigh chemicals and prepare stock solutions.
• Adjusting and measuring the pH of stock solutions.
• Using different types of pipettes safely to perform serial dilutions.
• Using aseptic techniques to prepare agar and broth, using streak and spread techniques to grow two types of bacteria.
• Identifying the best antibiotic that resists the growth of bacteria by measuring zones of inhibition.
• Performing PCR, visualising and analysing DNA bands.
• Performing ELISA and analysing results.

All laboratory techniques are taught correctly, and we allow time for participants to repeat each aspect multiple times. When participants leave this course, they are confident in their ability to enter a UK laboratory and work in a safe manner using essential pieces of equipment.

This course provides both current undergraduate and graduate scientists with a set of transferable skills and techniques in the laboratory, to progress on into jobs which will involve the use of these skills on a day-to-day basis. The skills and techniques learnt on this course also provide scientists with the tools to progress into postgraduate research projects involving these techniques.

Attendees not only gain transferable laboratory skills but also valuable insights into the research opportunities and applications of relevant techniques.

All our courses provide attendees with valuable insights into the range of careers and laboratory research opportunities available. We have links with many companies that recruit interns and graduates based on our recommendations. On completion of the course, your new skills and laboratory techniques can be endorsed by our scientists on LinkedIn and a factual reference will be provided upon request.