Dr Amanda Jones, Andrew Bell, Callum Crawford and Dr Helen Hooper are awarded the 2024 Outreach Prize

24 September 2024

The Microbiology Society is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2024 Outreach Prize – Dr Amanda Jones, Andrew Bell, Callum Crawford and Dr Helen Hooper at Northumbria University, UK, for the team project ‘What is a microorganism and where do they grow?’. The Outreach Prize is awarded to the team in recognition of their efforts and commitment to raise awareness of microbiology among future generations.

The team from Northumbria University project was inspired by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, who had their lives hugely affected by something that they struggle to comprehend, given that it can’t be seen. This simple fact drove their decision to work together to develop a programme of hands-on activities that reveal the hidden world of microorganisms to children in a memorable way.

Amanda and the team explain further:  “Children have been hugely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to us developing a programme of hands-on activities to reveal the hidden world of microorganisms, to children in a memorable way. We pooled both microbiological and primary teaching expertise to develop an enquiry-based programme to develop children’s understanding of: What are microorganisms? Where do microorganisms grow? What substances kill microorganisms?

We used workshops as well as hands-on approaches where the Year 5 researchers designed a microbiological enquiry; the first swabbing surfaces to test for the presence of microorganisms using a hand-held ATP luminometer. The second enquiry was to explore a range of antimicrobial agents such as hand sanitiser, disinfectants and even garlic juice and how effective they were at killing E. coli. Finally, a field trip to the University enabled the children to further develop their practical skills by investigating the DNA of GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) transformed E. coli by pouring and loading agarose gels and performing electrophoresis.”

On receiving the award, Dr Jones said: “Working with children and teaching them about microbiology is a passion of ours and to win this Outreach Prize is a great honour.”

Dr Jones and Dr Hooper will deliver a presentation on their work during the Society's Committees Day, held on 7 October 2024 in London.

The Microbiology Society Outreach Prize is awarded annually by the Society to an individual or group of microbiologists who have demonstrated an outstanding outreach initiative. Visit the Microbiology Outreach Prize Page to learn more.