Peak-ing the scientific interest of local students
At Peak Proteins we firmly believe in the transformative power of scientific education and inspiring young minds. While our primary role revolves around providing support for our client projects, we have also embarked on a journey of scientific outreach with school students. Over the past few weeks, we have not only been hosting A- level students at our Tytherington site, but also travelling to local schools and talking with GCSE students. Our hope is that initiatives like this will ignite curiosity and pave the way for a future generation of research scientists.
Peak Proteins recently had the pleasure of hosting six A-Level as part of a work experience placement exploring all areas of expertise we offer. Their enthusiasm for science was evident throughout the week, and they all expressed a continued interest in pursuing science-based degrees and careers. Another tranche of students are due to run through the same programme in July.
During the placement, the students had the opportunity to explore different laboratories and gain valuable insights into protein science. They learned about lab equipment and all the expression systems we offer including HEK CHO, E. coli and insect cells. They even had a go at expressing mCherry in each system and analysing the results post- transfection. All the students were really enthusiastic and got stuck into practical activities straightaway . They particularly enjoyed the process of protein crystallisation, investigating their results using X-ray crystallography.
It was great to hear such positive feedback from the students highlighting the impact the work experience had on their aspirations and perhaps helping to shape their future educational and career paths.
Peak proteins have also recently undertaken a schools’ outreach programme lead by Sarah Beck (Senior cell scientist) and Naimah Begum (Senior protein scientist). During which over 60 GCSE triple science students experienced an engaging day. Topics covered included the diverse scientific endeavours undertaken by Peak proteins and an overview of our scientists’ background, interests and motivations.
The students had the opportunity to have an introductory experience to a small part of what we do at peak by crystallising lysozyme, these samples were then imaged in- house producing some great results.
The day ended with a Q&A session with the scientists which provided valuable insights into the scientific industry and a better understanding to help them pursue their scientific ambitions. The success of the visit and enthusiasm from students has motivated us to extend our outreach efforts to other schools, aiming to foster a love for science and provide more opportunities for students to explore their potential.
