BioLinks Scientific Research Journal Club
BioLinks is a free virtual scientific journal club for high school students with the goal of building interest in biological research through understanding scientific literature.
Each weeklong journal club will be based around a recent research paper. During the journal club you will:
⁃ Learn strategies for comprehending research papers
⁃ Dive deep into complex biological topics
⁃ Understand some of the key techniques used by cellular/molecular biologists in the lab today
⁃ Make connections with topics learnt at the high school level
You will also have the opportunity to ask any questions pertaining to the content covered and interact with scientists from research institutions, who will be present for part of the journal club.
I would recommend at least a year of introductory high school Biology for participation in BioLinks, however anyone is welcome.
'I highly recommend BioLinks to any student interested in furthering their knowledge of biology. I not only learned a lot each week, I also enjoyed the journal clubs because of the engaging subject matter and low-stress environment!'
— BioLinks Student
Format
Pre-Journal Club
15-20 minute long introductory reading
Monday
1 hour (flexible) initial zoom meeting to get introduced to the paper, learn content and ask some questions
Between Monday and Friday
1-1.5 hr independent, asynchronous work completed on each participant's own schedule, involving reading parts of the paper, interpreting figures, and answering some questions
Friday
1 hour final zoom with Scientist on Friday to ask questions and discuss the paper further
NOTE: Zooms will only be on Monday and Friday of the week*, independent work can be completed at any time between then.
Each journal club is completely independent, and participants should feel free to sign up to any/multiple journal clubs of their choice. All material for independent work and non-interactive parts of the zoom meetings will be available online if participants need to catch up.