As an initiative to make scientific research more accessible to the general public, the team Hematology and Immunology (HEIM) of the Translational Oncology Research Center (TORC) – VUB recently hosted about 15 students from the 5th year of secondary school and introduced them to a ‘real’ scientific research lab and provided insights in what scientific research entails.
During this visit, the students were brought into contact with the daily research of team HEIM. For this, they first received a brief explanation about the plasma cell cancer multiple myeloma (what is it, what are the available treatments, what are the life expectancies…) and the major research lines within HEIM. They then also carried out experiments themselves, including a viability test after 24 hours of chemotherapeutic treatment and made their own cytospins (microscope slide on which individual cells are spotted) to examine the myeloma cells under the microscope. We are happy to say that all experiments were successful at the end of the day!
