This summer, “Experiments with GFP” will be offered to high school students interested in learning what STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, or Math) education in college is like. The facilities at our tier 1 research institution will allow students access to state-of-the-art instrumentation and instruction from experts in the field. Our small setting approach of no more than 14 students in a section will allow a low-pressure environment where students will engage with the instructor and gain invaluable experience. Students who complete the course receive college credits, which are transferrable to almost any other college or university.
Where and When
This hands-on biochemistry lab/discussion course is held in a Rutgers biochemistry teaching laboratory on the second floor of Lipman Hall on the Cook Campus of Rutgers University, 76 Lipman Drive, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901.
Schedule of Classes Summer 2024
11:115:110 EXPERIMENTS WITH GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN
Session Dates: 07/08/2024 - 08/02/2024
Monday 8:00 AM - 10:45 AM C/D LH-207
Tuesday 8:00 AM - 10:45 AM C/D LH-207
Wednesday 8:00 AM - 10:45 AM C/D LH-207
Thursday 8:00 AM - 10:45 AM C/D LH-207
What Is GFP?
GFP (green fluorescent protein) is a Nobel Prize-winning protein used in almost every area of biotechnology and biomedicine. Its brilliant green fluorescence makes GFP an ideal teaching tool, as every step in a protocol can be followed in real time. Unlike most biochemicals, which cannot be seen, GFP is always visible.
Purified GFP.
The Science
In a fully equipped university teaching laboratory, we express and extract recombinant GFP from genetically transformed, non-pathogenic bacteria (E. coli). Safety is stressed in the lab, as each student wears goggles, lab coats, and gloves. Lab exercises with GFP include high-speed centrifuging to concentrate the cells, cell lysis (breaking open the cells), and ammonium sulfate precipitation to collect the protein fraction. GFP purification includes hydrophobic interaction and size-exclusion column chromatography. Throughout the process, we monitor GFP purity by UV-Vis spectrophotometry and protein gel electrophoresis. Every method will be carefully explained by the instructors and questions are always welcomed. You will keep notebooks, create a science poster, take one short quiz a week, and take a final exam.