CSB was out in force with events at University of Toronto’s Alumni Reunion 2025. We held Open Houses in our teaching laboratories that allowed alumni from a variety of departments to take on the role of Biology undergraduates. Alumni learned fundamental lab techniques: how to measure tiny volumes of water and the tricks to adjusting a microscope. They moved to more advanced techniques like bacterial identification and gene editing. Their children were fascinated to watch and participate as our volunteers facilitated hands-on kids activities.
Picking up the Pipettor
CSB Teaching Assistants Emily Deng and Andrea Taylor began by taking our visitors through the ways we measure exact volumes of water in the lab with mechanical pipettors. They then went through the process of making adjustments to their microscope to ensure an evenly lit and clear image.
The adjusted microscopes gave our guests a clear look at paramecium, single-celled organisms that are a favourite in introductory courses, including in BIO130 labs. Active threads, or cilia, can be seen facilitating movement. Alumni saw that another fascinating feature of the paramecium is its contractile vacuoles that swell and empty to maintain the appropriate amount of water in the cell.
Training at the Forefront of Biotechnology
Our Human Biology (HMB) Open House showcased a gene editing lab carried out in HMB’s Genetics third-year lab course, HMB311. Dr Alistair Dias explained how students in this course use jellyfish DNA to make cells glow green. The purpose of this unusual trick was explained as alumni were introduced to the CRISPR technique; CRISPR is the most recent and cutting-edge gene editing technology; our visitors learned how HMB students use CRISPR to alter one DNA letter code in the cells to change cells from glowing green to glowing blue! Many alumni made the connection from jellyfish to human health and disease, such as the use of CRISPR in treating the devastating disease sickle cell anemia.
In another fascinating session, Dr Naijin Li introduced alumni to a neuroscience-focused lab demonstration from HMB310. Li guided participants through how HMB students study the development of cells into neurons. Participants used fluorescence immunostaining to visualize these cells at different stages in their maturation journeys using a marker of neuron-specific structural proteins. They observed differences in the appearance of mature cells compared to unspecialized cells and enthusiastically noted that a greater number of the mature cells lit up with the structural protein marker.
In Dr. Haley Zubyk’s session, guests participated in a hands-on lesson exploring antibiotic resistance. Zubyk guided participants through a step-by-step experiment to prepare and observe their own bacterial samples using Gram staining. Alumni explored the importance of selecting the right antibiotic for an infection based on the results of Gram staining. Through this exercise they appreciated the importance of cutting down on overuse of antibiotics and use of inappropriate antibiotics which can lead to the development of resistance.
Guests Were Impressed by the Depth and Breadth of Biology Undergraduate Studies
These activities gave alumni a look into the microscopic world of paramecium and neurons, insight into the perils of antibiotic resistance, a crash-course on the basics of proper microscope and measurement techniques, and perhaps a reminder of everything they had learned and everything they had yet to grasp.
Following the antibiotic session, attendees highlighted their appreciation for the interactive format and its connection to real-world medical practices, such as what happens to patient samples after a visit to the doctor’s office. Throughout all of the sessions, alumni were universally impressed by the depth and breadth of research that CSB and HMB undergraduates are exposed to, such as the use of the cutting-edge CRISPR technique in an undergraduate lab.
Alumni learned more about how CRISPR is used in yeast at Professor Lumba’s sold out Stress-Free Lecture on the “Secret Language of Plants and Fungi“.
Alumni Learning Alongside Their Kids
For our Kids’ Passport event, there was a line out the door to gaze inside the cell. Our young guests moved through the room looking at soil worms, taking pictures with a smartphone microscope, learning about regeneration and recreating tiny structures inside the cell with modelling clay.
Imaging Specialist Kenana al Kakouni showed tiny Daphnia water fleas, whose beating hearts are visible through their transparent bodies. As one toddler looked, they shouted, “I met him!” and named the flea after a second look in the microscope: “He is Lolo!”
As their children were absorbed in activities, alumni parents chatted with our volunteers about CSB discoveries in cancer, biophysics and vision loss, wrapping up a fruitful day of learning.
Special thanks to all our volunteers: Professor Heather McFarlane, Alice DesRoches, Linda Li, Ruby He, Emily Huang as well as those mentioned above!