Science Week
Caulfield Primary School Visit
Grade 5 Caulfield Primary students came to visit GEC for Science Week. Year 5 students took part in drama games with 7B and did an experiment in science with 7E students.
Karen Muramatsu
Science Immersion, Science and Japanese Teacher
Science Week – Meeting Biomedical Scientists
Glen Eira students from Year 9 to Year 12 were provided the opportunity to meet a Biomedical Scientist during Science Week in their regular scheduled Science lessons.
Students were encouraged to consider questions like:
- What is it like to make a major scientific discovery?
- How does it feel to change the course of a person’s health – and life?
- What career pathways are available for budding young Biomedical Scientists?
- What are the latest technologies available in modern-day, cutting-edge science laboratories?
Further information on this initiative can be found on the Melbourne University page.
Feedback from a Year 10 student:
First of all I would like to thank Dr David Fineberg for coming to GEC for Science Week and presenting what he does for a living and sharing information that many students may not have known.
One of the main things that I learned from it was about it was ME/CFS (Chronic fatigue syndrome), this is a biological illness, it causes severe fatigue and can not be improved by rest. This illness affects many people in the world and can make it very challenging to do anything like work, school, hanging out with friends and games. No one is born with it but they can get it through infections.
Dr David Fineberg also showed us pathways with biomedicine, there are many pathways and different paths, for example you can go into Biomedical science which is where people conduct laboratory and scientific tests to support the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Within the presentation there were complicated parts as there always is in science but it was all very interesting as there was a part on cancer and another on Machines for science and how they help so much by making things go faster allowing people to work better or more efficiently.
Dr Michelle Christie provided students an overview of her educational and research journey to date. She showed some examples of using the techniques of X-ray crystallography and leading edge cryo-electron microscopy for determining the structure of a protein using technology. There was an opportunity to learn about what life as a biomedical scientist is like and to view some protein samples under a microscope. Michelle also informed students about the school of Biomedical Science at Melbourne University and the pathways open to biomedical scientists.
We thank both of these scientists for being part of this initiative and for visiting our school. The feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive.
Profiles of Biomedical Scientists:
Dr David Fineberg
David grew up in Elsternwick and completed his MBBS at Bond University Queensland. He has worked in hospitals in Queensland and Mornington Peninsula in Cardiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Emergency Medicine and General Surgery. He achieved a high commendation in the Diploma of Child Health through The University of Sydney and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
David has worked in both Metropolitan and Rural GP clinics. He has also worked with the Australian Defence Force as a Civilian Medical Officer at bases across Australia including domestic disaster operations. Throughout the pandemic he worked in the St Vincent Hospital fever clinics and as a specialist GP in paediatric emergency at The Frankston Hospital. He is a current clinical examiner for the fellowship award of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
After the Pandemic he commenced a PhD in Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Melbourne conducting clinical trials in Long Covid and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. David uses physiological testing, advanced cellular imaging and biochemical analytical techniques to look at each person's individual response to medication with the aim of guiding future treatments.
Dr Michelle Christie
I am a protein biochemist and structural biologist studying the inner workings of disease-causing bacteria as well as bacteria that reside in our gut. The aim of my research is to be able to visualise the molecular details of proteins to understand their biology and to use this knowledge in the development of novel antibiotics.
Marc Lewandowski
Science Learning Area Leader