Girls`Day at MPI-TM
Seeing DNA with the naked eye, pipetting with precision, and catching the scents of microbes
On 3 April 2025, the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg invited 15 girls from the region and beyond to the nationwide Girls' Day. Many educational institutions and companies are striving to introduce girls in particular to research and science-related professions, as women are still underrepresented in these fields, even beyond the general shortage of skilled workers.
At the Max Planck Institute, microbes were, of course, the focus of the day. Some of the girls had even travelled from neighbouring countries.
The day began with a short introduction to the Institute: what research is done at the MPI in Marburg, what makes Max Planck Institutes special and what does research mean? This was followed by a lecture by Dr Anke Treuner-Lange on microorganisms: their diversity, their abilities and their special properties.
In three groups of five, the girls visited four stations, supervised by trainees Leonie Pastore, Tom Weigel and Svea Zeppel.
Dr Katharina Höfer and her guests isolated DNA from tomatoes, which was so abundant that it was visible to the naked eye. A sample was separated by agarose gel electrophoresis according to the size of the fragments and made visible under UV light.
Dr Anke Treuner-Lange presented a microbial puzzle to be solved. Armed with information about certain key characteristics of bacteria, the girls had to find out: Which bacteria grow on agar plates? In the end, the microscope provided the crucial clue.
Dr Maren Nattermann led the girls through an experiment on enzyme biochemistry, in which they first had to calculate the quantities to be used - with the help of the PhD students, of course. Pipetting showed the guests how important precision is for the success of experiments. They talked to the PhD students about their studies, day-to-day research and the fascination of synthetic biology.
Andreas Schmidtberger, head of the Institute's IT department, gave a tour of the Institute's server rooms. He explained how much computing power is needed to keep the research running smoothly and what security measures are in place to protect it from all eventualities.
During the concluding snack, the girls were able to ask questions of the administrative and IT staff and trainees who actively supported the team. A very well structured and successful day" and "a great Girls Day" was the consensus of the girls. The Girls Day team at MPI agrees and is already looking forward to next year.
