Students discover Protein Power at Perkins

It was the Year 12 Chemistry ATAR students turn to discover the wonders at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research on the 29th July as they participated in the Protein Power session.

Students started the day by meeting the presenters for the course, who all turned out to be researchers currently completing their PhDs while working at the institute.  The introductions were followed by an introduction into amino acids and an exploration of the primary, secondary and tertiary structures of proteins.  The students then worked with models which had them combining amino acids into protein chains and looking at the formation of zwitterions and the role of functional groups in the ability of a protein to perform a particular task.

From there students proceeded to a Physical Containment Level 2 Laboratory (PC2) where they had an introduction to the issue of antibiotic-resistance in bacteria and how different proteins could be used to overcome the resistance. They used the facilities to prepare samples of bacteria that have been engineered to produce a specific protein and analysed them to determine whether the bacteria had successfully produced the correct protein.

After lunch and much hand washing students were taken on a tour of the facilities and given the opportunity to see the work areas of the researchers that spent the day with us, and all the really expensive equipment they used on a daily basis.

Our Chemistry excursion to Henry Perkins Institute and the experiment we conducted have proved to be extremely valuable and absorbing as it greatly improved our knowledge of protein structures. – Student 1

Being able to see the work being done by the researchers at the institute and be able to ask them questions about their careers was invaluable. I'd love to be able to work in a place like that once I graduate. – Student 2

I can't believe they actually let us conduct an experiment with LIVE BACTERIA!  We would never be able to do this at school so it was amazing to have the chance to do it while being supervised in a PC2 Lab. – Student 3

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