ABE Summer 2023 PDI: July 4-6!

The ABE@UTM team is excited to welcome new and returning teachers to our next Profession Development Institute (PDI) on July 4-6, 2023. July 4-5 will be dedicated to labs in the Complete series for new teachers as well as trained teachers looking for a refresher course. Additionally, we will be offering the Colony PCR module for all interested teachers to enrich their ABE experience on July 6, 2023. 

The Amgen Biotech Experience Program at the University of Toronto Mississauga (ABE@UTM) program aims to bring hands-on experiments into the high school classroom to illustrate the central dogma using proper biotech techniques and equipment.  The ABE program is a suite of hands-on STEM laboratory exercises that focus on STSE issues and developing 21st-century skills such as problem solving, critical thinking and evaluation, and the use of contemporary technology.  The program allows high school students access to experimental setups that are usually prohibitive in high schools because of costs.

Using the ABE labs, students explore and build a recombinant plasmid using restriction enzymes, analyze results using gel electrophoresis, transform bacteria to produce red fluorescent protein, and purify this protein using column chromatography.  The entire curriculum aligns well with the Molecular Genetics chapters in Grade 12 biology, although parts are easily adaptable for any high school science classroom.  ABE provides a comprehensive kit that includes all the equipment and reagents required for the labs, as well as detailed teacher notes and student worksheets.