From left, students Justice Shuta of South Granville High School, Sarah Meixner of Granville Early College High School, Victoria Richardson of Warren County High School practice their micropipetting technique during the 2015 VGCC Biotech Workshop. (VGCC photo)
Vance-Granville Community College has scheduled its fourth annual Biotech Workshop for local high school students, as one of a series of VGCC Arts & Sciences camps and workshops being held this year.
All tenth, eleventh and twelfth graders who have taken or are currently taking biology and chemistry are invited to attend the workshop, which is set to take place over the course of two Saturdays: April 2 and April 9, each day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students must attend on both days.
Sessions will be taught by VGCC faculty in the state-of-the-art biotech lab in Building 8 on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County. “This workshop will give students a great opportunity to build their résumés and gain hands-on experience in a real laboratory with advanced equipment,” said VGCC Bioprocess Technology program head Dr. Tara Hamilton, who will oversee the workshop. “You can develop lab skills here that you can use in college and in various STEM careers, whether it’s in scientific research, high-tech manufacturing or medicine.”
Students will be introduced to Biotechnology, which is broadly described as using living organisms to develop and manufacture products for human use. This can range from making yogurt and cheese to producing human proteins in bacteria. This workshop will focus on the manipulation and use of various cellular molecules and the techniques commonly employed in a biotechnology laboratory. Participants will separate proteins and DNA on gels, learn how to culture bacteria for use in obtaining a useful product, and become accustomed to utilizing common laboratory equipment.
The cost to attend the workshop is $50, which includes lunch each day.
This opportunity is one of a number of initiatives by the VGCC Arts & Sciences division to reach out into the community with unique learning activities. The annual VGCC Science Camp for rising sixth, seventh and eighth graders and the Teenworks Drama Camp, which targets rising eighth graders through high school seniors, will both be held this summer.
Registration for the Biotech workshop can be completed online at www.vgcc.edu/camps. For more information, contact Dr. Hamilton at (252) 738-3285 or hamiltont@vgcc.edu.