What we’re about
We believe that innovations in biology should be
accessible, affordable, and open to everyone.
We’re building a community biology lab for
amateurs, inventors, entrepreneurs,
and anyone who wants to
experiment with friends.
Welcome to BioCurious
Visit the BioCurious homepage
BioCurious Community Lab
Opened in Sunnyvale, CA; Fall 2011! and in 2017 we moved to Santa Clara.
Join the discussion at Google Groups
http://groups.google.com/group/biocurious
Our successful Kickstarter campaign (http://biocurious.org/kickstarter) brought together volunteers and other biology enthusiasts eager to create a community lab, and they helped us raise over $35,000.
We are a 6700 sq. ft. facility in the heart of Silicon Valley. Come join us and see the next big thing to start in a Silicon Valley garage.
BioCurious is…
a complete working laboratory and technical library
for entrepreneurs to cheaply access
equipment, materials, and co-working space
a training center for biotechniques, with an emphasis on safety
a meeting place for citizen scientists, hobbyists,
activists, and students
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Science is all around us. Many find a love for it at an early age, but few continue to learn after leaving educational institutions. For those who continue to seek to know, there is BioCurious. Curious about biology? Come to a meetup to find other like-minded folk!
BioCurious is a completely volunteer run non-profit organization. We serve the community by providing lab space and classes to members and the community.
There are plenty of ways to get involved:
become a member
teach a class
take a class
donate your time, money
change the world
Featured event
Advanced CRISPR Gene Editing Bootcamp
Advanced Molecular Biology: CRISPR Gene Editing 3-day Bootcamp
Join us at BioCurious for a 3-day bootcamp where you will learn the fundamentals of CRISPR-Cas9 and make precision genome edits in E. coli to confer antibiotic resistance. This program is open to students and has a limited capacity of 6 seats.
CRISPR-Cas9 is a precision genetic engineering tool where guide RNA directs a Cas9 enzyme to a specific genomic target to make a double-stranded break which will be repaired with template DNA. Not only will we genetically engineer microbes with CRISPR but also design our own edits and verify transformations with molecular biology techniques, including PCR and gel electrophoresis.
Program Details
January 17, 18, 19 from 10am - 4:30pm daily (Jan 19 Monday is MLK Day - no school)
$950 standard admission New Year's Exclusive: Book by January 3rd and save $150 on your RSVP! Register for just $800 (regularly $950)
Venmo @ccl-plantbio. Last four digits phone # confirmation: 6986. Message the organizer on Meetup if you need an alternate payment method. This covers instruction and the materials and equipment used in the class.
Day 1
- History of CRISPR
- Plasmid DNA and inserting DNA into microbes
- Evolution of competence (techniques: heat shock, electroporation)
- Preparing electrocompetent cells and performing electroporation
- Selection vs screening and plating transformants
Day 2
- Observing phenotypes
- Genotyping tools for verifying edits
- PCR to amplify transformant DNA
- Using counterselection
Day 3
- Gel electrophoresis and sequencing
- Generating your own Cas9 sgRNA and template
- DNA design for inserting fluorescent proteins into microbes
- Electronic lab notebook
Required lab attire for safety: Long pants and closed-toed shoes.
Unable to attend? Interested in other classes like plant genetic engineering? Join our mailing list to hear about upcoming Bay Area workshops!
About The Instructors
Jason Liu PhD is a translational biology scientist and manager specializing in leading teams for therapeutic, programmable large DNA integrations. He has 15+ years of expertise in accelerating novel CRISPR technologies to human cells, molecular biology, cell/strain engineering, and high throughput and NGS assay development.
Anthony Neil Tan is a UC Berkeley trained bioengineer whose projects center on enhancing high-value plants through genetic engineering. His past work ranges from designing a plant growth chamber that won a national NASA contest to developing new plant genetic engineering tools at the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute.
Upcoming events
166
Past events
2870
Group links
Organizers
Members
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