Saturday Workdays at Pasadena BioCollaborative Incubator

We're thrilled to introduce you to Saturday Workdays, a series of exciting training events thoughtfully curated by PBC Lab Director, Dr. Wendie Johnston. Saturday Workdays at PBC are hands-on, immersive experiences that occur every 3 to 4 weeks throughout the year where budding scientists from all over LA County come together to dive headfirst into the fascinating world of biotechnology. Students rotate through three to four lab-based activities where they get to learn essential laboratory skills.

The lab-based activity stations are led by science professionals and academics who serve as mentors. The mentors hail from institutions like CSUDH, UCLA, LA Pierce College, Pasadena City College, Immaculate Heart HS, and Pasadena Bio Collaborative. Saturday Workdays also receive support from student volunteers that represent schools like Flintridge Prep, LA Pierce College, Crescenta Valley HS, Bravo Medical Magnet, LA County HS for the Arts, Harvard-Westlake School, Van Nuys HS, and Immaculate Heart HS and from ABE-LA PBC site coordinator Samantha Leano and ABE-LATTC site coordinator Robert Nguyen.

Occasionally, PBC will host industry-based guest speakers during Saturday Workday events. At a recent workday, Monica Lui from Curia in Thousand Oaks and Vali Engels from Caltech shared their inspiring career paths with the students, giving them a glimpse into the endless possibilities in the world of STEM.

A deep dive into the laboratory skills stations:

Station 1: Plate Pouring: At this station, students get to prepare LB Agar media from scratch, and practice documenting reagents, reviewing MSDS sheets, and weighing reagents like seasoned scientists. They learn about appropriate autoclave use and work with a plate pouring machine to fill agar plate orders.

Station 2: Buffer Production: Students learn about buffers conceptually, and then create 20X sodium borate buffer from scratch. Students are trained to perform precise pH adjustments, and to skillfully transfer the prepared buffer into its designated container with proper labeling. This exercise emphasizes the importance of precision and adherence to laboratory protocols in biotechnology.

Station 3: Sterile Aliquotes: At this station, students learn the ins and outs of preparing sterile aliquots of LB broth, complete with a demonstration and biosafety cabinet preparation.

Station 4: Weighing, Testing, and Measuring: Stations can include weighing, testing, and sterile filtering. Students weigh agarose, perform arabinose calculations, and complete sterile filtration. Students may also validate various experimental lab dyes by running samples through a gel electrophoresis system.

The hard work and dedication of participating students results in the production and quality control of media plates, buffers, and sterile aliquots. These supplies are destined for schools participating in the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE) program, and almost all associated ABE-LA distribution centers have received Saturday Workday products.

These events are only possible due to the meticulous planning and detailed coordination by Dr. Wendie Johnston and the volunteer mentors and students who contribute their free time to project-based learning and biotech skill-building. It takes a science village to create and QC biotech kit components.

Saturday Workdays at PBC are more than just labs work; they're the building blocks of a brighter STEM future. Stay tuned for the next biotech adventure!