A short history of GoBiochem

Julia Eßer-von Bieren from Mönchengladbach and Natalia Wegner from Darmstadt first met in the early 2000s while looking for student accommodation in Munich. Though they did not end up sharing accommodation, the highly motivated biochemistry students became good friends. Both had fond memories of open days and “taster courses” for Gymnasium students at universities in or near their hometowns, including the then-called Chemie für Schüler (Chemistry for Schools) program at TU Darmstadt, so they felt compelled to organize a similar course at TUM for junior and senior high school students interested in biochemistry.

In 2005, Julia and Natalia approached Prof. Johannes Buchner (current Department Head of Bioscience and Chair of Biotechnology) with their concept, which they named “GoBiochem”. As the main organizers, Julia and Natalia prepared flyers for the course, selected themes for each lecture, and approached sponsors, notably the German Chemical Industry Association – Bayern (VBCI). In addition, they assembled and coordinated a team of five fellow students to assist with the design of the webpage and information materials, communication with local schools, selection of students, and program delivery. 

Prof. Buchner was instrumental in organizing initial contacts with high schools. Under his patronage and with the assistance of Dr. Martin Haslbeck, access to both lecture and practical rooms was arranged, and safety measures were ensured. Importantly, Buchner was not involved in any teaching since, to ensure a low threshold of the course, “no professors are allowed”.

The first GoBiochem program at TUM took place during the winter semester of 2005. Fourteen selected students came every other Friday to Garching campus to be immersed in topics ranging from metabolism (what is the relation between overweight and diabetes?), protein chemistry (how is the 3D structure of a protein determined?), and biomedicine (what happens during an allergic reaction?), to biophysics (how does an amoeba find its prey?). Students were actively involved giving presentations about a selected topic. No grades were given; however, students received a certificate after completion of the course. 

Following positive feedback, a second GoBiochem course was organized by Natalia and Julia during the summer semester of 2006. New topics were added, such as “Dolly, stem cells and gene-free tomatoes”. By the end of the semester, both organizers concluded their BSc degrees and moved on to other universities, handing the reins of the GoBiochem program to their collaborators. Reflecting on the old days, both concluded, “it was a lot of hard work, but absolutely worth it!”. 

GoBiochem 2025-2026

Now, around 20 years later, GoBiochem is still flourishing. Currently led by Simon Schramm (MSc student) and Laurin Köhler (BSc student), a team of about 20 BSc and MSc students is running the program, still supported by Prof. Buchner and Dr. Haslbeck. Over the years, the concept has developed into a fully independent, self-regenerating organization. Asked to why they spend their free time teaching the elementals and some more advanced aspects of biochemistry, Simon and Laurin simply replied, “because it is good fun!”. New members are found and approached by senior members, many having partaken in the program themselves. After some time to adjust, new team members take on teaching responsibility and are invited to wear the cool GoBiochem hoodie. 

In addition to high school students from grades 12 and 13, students from the Fachoberschule (vocational upper secondary schools, FOS) can nowadays also apply for GoBiochem. As demand by far outnumbers availability (roughly 70 applications for 20 spaces), the GoBiochem team selects the candidates based on their motivational letters. Most applicants come from the greater Munich area, though this year two dedicated applicants travelled to Garching campus from as far as Augsburg. Much has remained the same: no grades nor exams, and participants give a presentation. The main financial support for the program is still obtained from the VBCI. However, there is only one course per academic year, and classes meet every week, amounting to 22 visits total. The course includes two experimental days and visits to two different labs. At the end of the course, participants receive a certificate, which can be very useful for university applications, not just for TUM. 

The current lecture cycle started with some fundamental biochemical knowledge, including lectures on cells and genetics, ending with current research topics, such as oncology and CRISPR. All lectures took place in the TUM Chemistry building on Fridays from 4 to 6 pm. 

This year, the labs of Prof. Michael Groll (Chair of Biochemistry) and Prof. Jürgen Plitzko (CryoEM technology at the Max Planck Institute in Martinsried) opened their doors to GoBiochem. Students were introduced to the scientific topics of the visited labs and shown around, and they learned about the different aspects of life as a scientist in academia, as opposed to in clinics and industry. As stated by Prof. Groll, these visits are equally appreciated by students and professors, since many of these highly motivated students decide to study biochemistry at TUM and end up in their labs.

Night owl or early bird? It’s all in the genes! 

Finally, GoBiochem includes two full days in the lab doing experiments, one day focused on proteins, the other on DNA analysis.

For hands-on experience with genetic analysis, GoBiochem collaborates with Dr. Patricia Schöppner (Project Coordinator of the Amgen Biotech Experience, ABE) program Germany, part of the TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Associate Professorship of  Life Sciences Education) and Dr. Sara Großbruchhaus (MINTopolis), both highly experienced with developing and teaching STEM (MINT in German) practical courses for high school students.

In this exercise, students genetically determine whether they are an “early bird” or a “night owl” by analyzing their PER3 gene. The PER3 gene is specifically associated with the circadian (day/night) rhythm of an individual, whereby the presence of four so-called tandem repeats in the gene is indicative of the night owl variant, whereas the presence of five of these tandem repeats specifically indicates the early bird variant. Thus, students gurgle a salt solution to isolate cells from their mouth cavities. The cell material was then lysed and cleaned up, ready for analysis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a method developed to identify short stretches of DNA. Using kits and instruments specifically adapted for use in a classroom environment, students analysed the number of tandem repeats in both their PER3 alleles; one inherited from their mother and one inherited from their father. Following the PCR reactions, the generated DNA fragments were separated and subsequently visualized on an agarose gel, whereby the smaller fragments (night owl) migrated faster through the gel than the bigger early bird DNA fragments. It was hardly a surprise that most students were heterozygous (H) for the PER3 gene, that is, they had one night owl copy and one early bird copy.

When asked about the GoBiochem program, Dr. Schöppner responded: “It never ceases to impress me to see the interest and precision with which the young people in the GoBiochem program work in our lab. Being able to foster this enthusiasm through the Amgen Biotech Experience program in Germany and thereby introduce them to the world of biochemistry is a real highlight of the year for us. To this Dr. Großbruchhaus added: “Programs like GoBiochem demonstrate how important extracurricular learning environments are for promoting STEM education. At the Associate Professorship of Life Sciences Education, including the MINTopolis Youth Research Center and the Berchtesgaden Student Research Center, we create extracurricular learning environments where young people can not only learn about science but also experience it firsthand”.

Started 20 years ago as a small initiative, the GoBiochem program has turned into a well-oiled, self-regenerating student team that is going strong! The commitment and enthusiasm of the team, as well as the updated topics included every year are impressive. Participants are highly enthusiastic with many questions being asked during the lectures, and dive deep into the topics of their presentations. The intended low threshold is exemplified by the discussions and messaging app exchanges between participants and organizers. Indeed, Eßer-von Bieren and Wegner can be proud of themselves and the current team.

The TUM School of Natural Sciences wishes Simon Schramm and Laurin Köhler every success in organizing GoBiochem 2026–2027 and thanks them for their dedication to teaching STEM subjects to students!

More information and links

• GoBiochem website https://www.gobiochem.de/ (in German)
• Prof. Johannes Buchner https://www.bio.nat.tum.de/en/biotech/home/
• Prof. Michael Groll https://www.bio.nat.tum.de/biochemie/home/
• Professorship for Didactics of Life Sciences (in German): https://www.edu.sot.tum.de/fdls/willkommen/
• Amgen Biotech Experience Program Germany (in German): https://www.edu.sot.tum.de/fdls/lehrkraeftefortbildungen/molekularbiologie-abe/
• MINTopolis (in German): https://www.mintopolis.de/

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