The second ADAMED SmartUP science camp successfully finished

30 July 2015

Performing protein electrophoresis, diagnosing a patient with uncharacteristic symptoms, surgical hand washing, DNA sequence analysis, construction of an aerodynamic profile or operating simulators – are only some of the issues which the young enthusiasts of science dealt with during an innovative science camp organised as part of the ADAMED SmartUP programme.

Talented, determined, passionate – these are the characteristics of young people aged 15-19 who were selected in a multi-stage recruitment and enrolled into the science camp, organised as part of the science and educational ADAMED SmartUP programme. For two weeks young Olympiad laureates and laureates of international science competitions participated in special classes held by the best lecturers from Poland and abroad.

They were divided according to their interests into four thematic groups. The enthusiasts of chemistry and biochemistry, with the help of Marcin Suskiewicz, an Oxford graduate and a postdoc at the University of Vienna, studied the chemistry of living organisms at the atomic and molecular level.  The classes focused on the analysis of such processes as: evolution of organisms, transfer of energy and information inside the cell, as well as diseases (e.g. neoplasms). The participants got acquainted with the latest methods of laboratory testing and biophysical research, for example while testing cell metabolism by way of spectroscopy.

“Laboratory work gives me pleasure. Lots of interesting things are happening there. In the future, I would like to work in a biochemical laboratory, for instance on the production processes of new chemical compounds,” explained Maksymilian Głowacki, a student of the Stanisław Staszic High School No. 14 in Warsaw.

Under the direction of Magdalena Richter, a PhD student at the Biophysics Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences and at the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge, the enthusiasts of medicine and medical sciences analysed the DNA structure and ran various diagnostic tests in laboratory conditions. They learnt to evaluate microscope slides, perform blood typing, identify bacteria and peripheral blood cells based on their morphology, carry out DNA analysis using the RFLP method and analyse the results of the sequencing. During the classes taught by Anna Witkowska-Wróbel, a UCL PhD student, physician and psychologist, they also had the opportunity to learn the basics of surgical sutures, dissect various animal organs and perform a clinical study.

“In the future I would like to become a doctor and help others, but also to learn new things. Doctors constantly need to expand their knowledge. I don’t know yet which specialisation I would choose. I think I would decide only during my studies,” said Marta Rogalska, a student of the Król Władysław IV High School in Warsaw.

During the camp the youth visited places which normally are not available for tourists, such as the National Centre for Nuclear Research or the Space Research Centre. The young scientists also paid a visit to the laboratories of the Adamed Group, where they watched the scientists at work.

All science enthusiasts can get a taste of scientific adventure if they enter the competition together with their class or science group. The prize is school laboratory equipment. The competition starts on 1 September – join us! More information about the programme and competition: www.adamedsmartup.pl

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