Proteins & Antibodies | ELISA Masterclass: Flu Fighters

In this enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) masterclass, your pupils will diagnose the disease status of chickens to identify which are infected with the influenza virus. 

Learning Level: S6 Advanced Higher 

Location: Easter Bush Science Outreach Centre, University of Edinburgh Easter Bush Campus, EH25 9RG

Minimum attendance: 16 ( If your numbers are below 16, please let us know and we will do our best to twin you with another group).

Maximum attendance: 24

Duration: 5 hours

Times: 10am - 3pm

Cost: £10 per pupil (if this is a barrier to attending, please email ebsoc@ed.ac.uk in confidence)

Availability: 2025 dates to be announced

I thought the workshop was planned really well, ran really smoothly and was well thought through. Would definitely recommend this workshop as I think it’s a great experience for a young person interested in pursuing science. Thank you for the opportunity :)

Advanced Higher Biology Student - St Joseph's College, Dumfries 

Learning Objectives

• Understand the structure, lifecycle and modes of transmission of avian flu
• Understand how ELISA can be used to detect influenza infection
• Will do a quantitative ELISA of flu antibody levels to detect signs of infection
• Make a dilution series and create a standard curve of known antigen concentrations
• Use micropipettes and microplate reader
• Interpretation of experimental results
• To reveal the world of work in scientific research 

Techniques Used

• ELISA - working with proteins and antibodies
• Quantification of protein concentrations- using a microplate reader
• Centrifugation
• Micro-pipetting

Workshop outline

• ELISA jigsaw activity to teach/reinforce the ELISA technique
• Introduction to influenza virus and avian flu
• Introduction to micropipettes
• Serial dilution to generate dilutions of known antigen concentration.
• Quantitative ELISA to assay infection status of several chickens
• Analysis and interpretation of results
• Discussion with scientists from The Roslin Institute 

Curriculum links

Developing the Young Workforce – “I can” statements 

The following "I can" statements are supported through EBSOC’s workshops: 

• I can identify the skills I have learnt across the curriculum, how these relate to the world of work and can apply these appropriately during work placements and other work-related learning.
• I can confidently access and interpret the information I need to make well informed choices about my learning options, pathways and how these relate to possible future careers.
• I can work towards achieving qualifications which support me to achieve my future career aspirations.

Availability

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Downloadable Resources 

Testimonials

Talking to actual scientists was very interesting.

Higher Biology Pupil

Could work with people who are doing current, cutting edge research. We also got to use more advanced equipment than in school.

Higher Biology Pupil

The workshop put the ELISA into context for the student and was very hands on for them I thought the chat to a scientist time at the end was great to show students the variety of options available when studying/working in science

Secondary Biology Teacher

It provided the pupils with hands-on experience, provided them data to process and the implications of that data in the real world. 

Secondary Biology Teacher