On the 26th of April NIBRT welcomed a group of 5th and 6th year students from Ballinteer Community School. This visit was part of our commitment to community engagement and to offering local secondary schools the opportunity to learn about biopharmaceutical manufacturing. As part of the visit the students learned about cell therapies and biologics in our new CONCEPT facility with research scientists Drs. Julia Serna and Sukhraj Dhami. The students had expressed an interest in analytical chemistry so our next stop was to the research labs where one of the research scientists from the Cell Characterisation group, Dr. Nora Crushell explained some of the technologies involved such as HPLC and told them about the relevance of the research happening at NIBRT to the biopharmaceutical industry. We finished the visit with a tour of the training facility where trainers Nathania Harron and Tope Adeshina gave the students a comprehensive overview of bioprocessing from cell scale-up through to fill finish.
The students were accompanied by their chemistry teacher Mr. McGrath who commented:
“The tours were very engaging and relevant to many aspects of senior cycle chemistry. Our students left NIBRT in awe of the science and technology on display. I would fully recommend visiting NIBRT to any science teachers that are trying to find ways to further engage their students in the applications of their subject.”
NIBRT hopes that visits like this will encourage students who have already shown an interest in science to continue on this path and possibly to pursue a career in biopharma.
If you would like to hear more about our outreach programmes, please contact NIBRT’s Research Impact and Communications Officer, Dr. Laura Breen at laura.breen@nibrt.ie