Hands-On Biotech Opens Doors for Students in Ireland
September 22, 2026
Every year, secondary school students studying biology from schools across Ireland take part in an Advanced Genetics workshop at University College Dublin (UCD) through ABE. Students explore genetic engineering and biology through hands-on experiments, including bacterial transformation, gel electrophoresis, and micropipetting. The activities give…
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Melissa (Mel) Whittaker, with her natural enthusiasm, joined the ABE Australia team in 2022. Mel is the technical officer at the University of Sydney’s School of Rural Health in Dubbo, located about 5 hours west of Sydney. She works with academic and clinical-skills educators to support… Read More
Like many people pursuing a PhD in research, Drew Spacht entered his graduate work not looking forward to the teaching that would be expected of him. To his surprise, however, he loved it. “When I started, I was like, ‘I'm going to do pure science,’” he recalls. “And very quickly, I got wrapped up… Read More
Robin Bos is an ABE The Netherlands site coordinator. Robin works on two different DNA-Labs on the Road: Language of the Tumor and Gen-Ethics. She has been an active contributor to general programming but also supports conferences, workshops, and science fairs for students. Robin brings… Read More
With countless hours of work required to teach and assess students as well as to develop and maintain course lessons, teachers often struggle to find time to innovate in the science classroom. That innovation time requires resources and support no matter where they are located—whether at a public… Read More
Sitting between two of her students on a Zoom call in early December, Clare Collins was beaming with pride. Ready for the winter holiday break, they were also eager to share their experiences about ABE, especially students Aimee and Caitlin, who are in their final year of secondary school with… Read More
Ananya Ramesh recently celebrated her 1-year anniversary with ABE, and the ABE Ireland team couldn’t be happier to have her as part of their team. Always smiling and a pleasure to work with, Ananya has accomplished so much during her time with ABE Ireland. She has set up their PCR lab; revamped… Read More
"Be patient, it is a meticulous process." These wise words came from students who completed a 2-week series of ABE labs this fall at South Carleton High School in Ottawa, Canada. Their teacher, Shona Schneider, was pleased to see that like in the first year she conducted the labs, her students in… Read More
The ABE Program Office conducted a Global Teacher Survey in 2022, collecting data from teachers across all 19 sites in the 12 countries active at that time. Over 500 teachers participated in the survey. The survey asked teachers to report on their experiences with professional development and… Read More