Exploring Science Up Close: School Group Visits the BMC

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The visit offered the pupils the chance to learn about modern biomedical research methods for a whole day, with plenty of opportunities to ask questions, try things out and make discoveries.

The day began with a welcome address from Professor Christian Wahl-Schott, MD, Head of the Institute for Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology. Dr Roland Immler then introduced the research focus on leukocyte recruitment. After a safety briefing, the group headed to the laboratory areas.

The training room initially offered a practical element of the programme. Following the motto ‘Hands(chuhe) on!’, the young people examined stained blood smears under the microscope, learned to distinguish between different blood cells, and performed a blood group test. Afterwards, the institute's laboratories revealed more about the latest biomedical methods. The pupils were given a live demonstration of how migrating immune cells can be made visible in a Petri dish, among other things. This was followed by observations of heart cells under the microscope, as well as brief insights into model organisms such as migrating immune cells in zebrafish.

The visit came to a close with an open discussion with a BMC animal keeper from the animal facility. The pupils took the opportunity to ask critical questions about the role of genetically modified organisms, the importance of animal experimental models, and what alternatives are already available. The pupils took advantage of the opportunity to ask critical questions and gain a better understanding of the background.

The visit gave the pupils a unique hands-on experience of scientific methods and an insight into the everyday life of researchers. Through experiments, laboratory tests and personal discussions, the pupils were able to understand how questions are developed, hypotheses tested and results critically evaluated. This gave them a real sense of the research process.

The project was initiated and carried out by Dr Roland Immler (research group leader), Dr Verena Kochan (Scientific Coordinator) and Dr Ingrid Hepper (Scientific Coordinator) in collaboration with the team at the Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology at BMC. The occasion was the international World Science Day.

The event was supported by the CoPILOT graduate programme (TRR 359) and TRR 332, both funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

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