Life Sciences and Culture in Bonn
June 1 - August 3, 2012: For the seventh time students can combine lab research with intercultural and language learning in this innovative nine week summer program.
The University of Bonn, 
in cooperation with Harvard University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, invites outstanding undergraduate students to its study abroad program, Life Sciences and Culture in Bonn. University of Bonn is among the top three research universities in Germany and a leader in biomedical research.
Life Sciences and Culture in Bonn combines laboratory research in biomedicine with the aquisition of intercultural skills in Bonn, a beautiful city with a profound international presence and a host city to the United Nations. Students actively participate in an intensive scientific project integrated into outgoing life science research activities at the university host lab. They also partake of a broad range of cultural activities, including language instruction and site visits. Weekly discussions focus on scientific issues and bring into play aspects of politics and ethics, creating a unique environment of intercultural communication.
Students benefit from the University of Bonn's broad experience hosting study abroad programs and from the intensive personal commitment of their academic supervisors and the chairs of the participating departments.
Lab Research
Students conduct supervised research in a life-sciences laboratory at the University of Bonn. Participating departments include genetics, cell biology, cellular biochemistry, molecular medicine and experimental immunology and physiological chemistry. Students work on ongoing research activities of the host lab, which, depending on the project, exposes them to basic technologies in protein biochemistry (such as cell fractionation, protein purification, SDS-PAGE, and Western blotting), DNA and RNA technologies (such as DNA and RNA isolation, gel electrophoresis, Southern Blotting, PCR, aptamers and siRNAs), medicinal chemistry (drug design and ligand/receptor assays), cell biology (immunhistochemistry, primary cell culture, and transfection of cell lines), genetics of model organisms (Drosophila and mice) or microscopy techniques, such as bright field, phase contrast and confocal microscopy.
You can download 2011's program overview here.
