Science 

VCE Biology

On Tuesday 16 August, students studying VCE Biology enjoyed a trek into the city to visit the Gene Technology Access Centre (GTAC), located on the grounds of University High next to The University of Melbourne. 

Whilst at GTAC, students had the opportunity to become immersed in the world of immunology as they performed a diagnostic tests to identify a bacterium causing an outbreak of mastitis in a dairy herd. They examined antibiotic sensitivity tests to determine the ideal antibiotics to treat this mastitis infection and performed serial dilutions to determine the bacteriostatic dose of antibiotic for treating this outbreak. Students constructed a model to represent how mammals acquire active immunity against tetanus. They also performed a special type of test called an ELISA and applied their knowledge of acquired immunity to trace the primary and secondary immune response to the tetanus vaccine in a herd of cattle. 

To add to the experience, our budding young biologists were again paired with research students from the University of Melbourne who are currently completing their PhDs in various scientific research fields. Can’t get more authentic learning than this!

The next day in class, we analysed their digital logbooks and discussed every aspect of our experience yesterday (in order to help students revise for their upcoming SAC).

I hope that this experience was engaging and enriching for the students, allowing them to understand what the ‘lab life’ is like (especially when it comes to performing diagnostic tests, using high-grade scientific equipment and following intricate testing and experimental guidelines). Who knows – perhaps we have some future researchers amongst us!

Ms Emma Rooke

Biology Teacher