BMC Excursion
BMC offers the opportunity for student and teacher groups to visit the institute, get acquainted with its main areas of activity, and participate in various practical and laboratory work, providing a glimpse into the daily life of scientists and research methods. The institute tours are organised on Tuesdays. The specific time and tour plan should be arranged in advance by sending information to maija.rozenberga@biomed.lu.lv.
| Activity | Duration | Description |
| Introductory lecture about BMC | 30 min | Introductory lecture on BMC’s research directions, how research is conducted, what is being studied, and why it is important. The lecture is led by Jānis Kloviņš, Chair of the BMC Scientific Council. |
| Tour of BMC and GC premises | 20 min | Tour of the Genome Centre, including the National Genome Database, sample storage and processing, laboratory equipment, and research capabilities. |
| Tour of the BMC cell block | 25 min | Tour of the BMC Biomedicine Technology Complex’s Cell Culture and Microscopy Centre premises and laboratories. |
| Tour of the historical rooms | 20 min | Viewing of historical scientific equipment and rooms. |
| Protein crystal growth and lecture | 30 min | Participants will learn about the structure of protein molecules and how it is determined, the importance of protein structure, and where this data is used. They will also complete a step in the protein structure determination process by crystallising the protein lysozyme. |
| Bacterial plating on agar plates | 20 min | In the historical rooms, participants will see how laboratories used to operate and with what tools. Students will have the opportunity to grow bacteria from any chosen object or item. |
| Agarose gel electrophoresis | 90 min | A short lecture followed by practical laboratory work – agarose gel electrophoresis and checking the results with a UV transilluminator. This session is analogous to the “DNA fingerprinting” method mentioned in school biology courses. |
| Lecture on the genetic research of ancient inhabitants of Latvia using archaeological bone material | 20 min | A lecture on the genetic research of ancient organisms from both global and Latvian perspectives, focusing mainly on human history. Participants will be introduced to key and recent research in ancient DNA studies and how the ancient inhabitants of Latvia fit into the genetic history of Eurasia. |
| Lecture on biobanks and omics data | 20-30 min | Introduction lecture on the operations of biobanks in Latvia, current research, and results in various omics fields (for high school students). |
| Discussion on bacteriophages (bacterial viruses) and practical activity | 40-60 min | 1) Discussion on bacteriophages with videos and posters; 2) Modelling the infection cycle; 3) Informative booklets with test questions; 4) Practical activity related to bacteriophages, such as cleaning plaques, mastering the two-layer agar method, growing bacterial pure cultures, infecting pure cultures, reseeding cultures, or extracting bacterial DNA. |