Microbiology/virology lab tours MFT

Thanks to the Manchester Medical Microbiology Partnership at MFT for showing biomedical science students from the University of Salford around their bacteriology and virology labs. Tahmina stresses, “It’s important that students are able to see what labs in clinical pathology look like. The students found the tours engaging, educational, and influential for their career planning. They appreciated the balance between advanced automation and traditional techniques, the focus on patient outcomes, and the insights into career paths. These tours provided them with a clearer view of biomedical science's critical role in healthcare and offered inspiration for their future careers”.

Rhianne Wimsey and Shefa Khan share their reflections on the microbiology and virology lab tours which highlighted their engaging experiences.

Rhianne was impressed by Gio, one of the Virology Department’s deputy managers, noting his pride and professionalism. The department’s large scale and volume of samples surprised her, and she learned about various techniques, including antibody and antigen detection, PCR, immunoglobulin tests, and the significance of different biosafety level rooms. Gio’s insights into his career path were especially valuable to Rhianne as a second-year student exploring career options. She also appreciated Beth from the Bacteriology Department, whose engaging tour showcased specimen processing, automation, and manual techniques like Gram staining. The balance of patient-focused care and technological advancement, such as WASP agar sample spreaders and CO2 blood culture systems, stood out. Rhianne admired Beth’s dedication to patient outcomes and found the detailed explanations about career paths and safety protocols informative. The experience broadened Rhianne's perspective on the biomedical specialisms.

Shefa said “I was especially fascinated by watching the various laboratory machines in action! Particularly the robotic system that automatically streaked an agar plate with no manual input. It was incredible to see how advanced technology has become, showing just how far science has progressed in automating complex tasks to save time. I learned a lot about the different levels of biosafety within the lab, and how different samples require different attention. The tour provided me valuable insights into the daily life of a biomedical scientist and helped me better understand the critical role they play in essentially bridging the gap between scientific evaluations and medical application. I think the role would be perfect for someone who is interested in healthcare. Overall, I think it was a needed experience for me to learn more about what my future may hold and would recommend to students like me.”