Lawrence Livermore offers biotechnology summer experience for high school students

Back by popular demand, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will host a Biotechnology Summer Experience for high school students (age 16 and older) to engage in a research project in molecular biology and bioinformatics.

This immersive 10-day experience runs weekdays July 15-26 at the Edward Teller Education Center, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. In collaboration with Rutgers University, this program focuses on the isolation, characterization and DNA sequence analyses of genes from the duckweed species, Landoltia punctata. Duckweed is a freshwater aquatic plant that is of interest to the scientific community.

High school students who are accepted into the 2019 Biotechnology Summer Experience Program will:

• Work in a laboratory with instruction from master teachers.
• Isolate unique fragments of DNA by conducting laboratory experiments including plasmid DNA purification, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction digests and gel electrophoresis.
• Analyze gene sequences from these DNA fragments using the same bioinformatic tools used by practicing scientists worldwide.
• Submit their vetted DNA sequence analyses for publication on GenBank, the international repository of DNA sequences maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Education (NCBI).

Applicants must:  

• Be 16 years or older by the start of the workshop and a U.S. citizen.
• Have a current GPA of 3.3 or higher.
• Have their own transportation to and from the workshop.     
• Submit a completed application by May 20.

Applications are competitive and space is limited. There is a $25 workshop fee if accepted into the program. Lunch is not provided. Students may bring lunch or purchase lunch onsite. Students are supervised through the lunch hour. The Summer Biotech Experience is sponsored by LLNL's University Relations and Science Education Program.

Visit the LLNL Science Education Program website for more information about this and other educational outreach programs, or contact albala1 [at] llnl.gov (Joanna Albala), LLNL Science Education Program manager, at (925) 422-6803.