As a link of series of workshops that the University Of Modern Sciences (UMS) carries out in the field of professional development of its faculty members and students in the learning development and Research areas, the College of Biotechnology and Engineering has conducted a workshop with the collaboration of Abcam (Bio Medical Scientific services L.L.C) on Thursday 2/02/2017 from 10:00-12:00 at UMS (G11). The title of the workshop was Optimization of Western Blotting and IHC/ICC staining Techniques. These kinds of workshops serve the educational process as a whole as well as to activate efforts by our college members and students to guarantee proper interaction between them and their community. Furthermore, this workshop offered chances to debate issues related to the field, share experiences and exchange perspectives.
At the beginning of the workshop, The dean of the college, Prof. Reda Moghaieb welcomed and introduced Dr. Quentin, the speaker of the workshop, to the attendees (College of Biotechnology and Engineering members and 25 students).
Dr. Quentin Séry who completed his Ph.D. in cancer biology at the University of Nantes in France. He worked on apoptosis and cell signaling pathways involved in the resistance to chemotherapy in Glioblastoma Multiform. His work was especially focused on EGFR and the Bcl-2 protein family. Dr. Quentin covered the following topics in his presentation:
1. Optimization of Western Blotting:
· Western Blotting Protocol.
· Controls to Use in Western Blotting.
· Antibody Selection.
· Troubleshooting Tips and Examples.
· Protocol Resources and Products
2. IHC / ICC staining techniques using single and multiple labels:
· Introducing generic IHC / ICC protocol sUMStable for use with labeled secondary antibody, polymer system or avidin-biotin-complex (ABC).
· Numerous variations on each step depending on experimental design.
· Details on protocol steps including discussion of common experimental design variations.
· Design of immunostaining experiments using multiple labels.
The workshop wrapped with an open discussion and questions to give the attendees the opportunity to learn more about the topic. All attendees shared information and experiences which created a good learning and exchange experiences environment. At the end of the workshop, evaluation forms were distributed and the overall evaluation of the workshop was encouraging and all the attendees were pleased.
