Facilities for students

Discover our multi-million-pound laboratories, fitted with industry-standard equipment, to prepare you for a scientific career.

Equipment, software and experiments

Find out what equipment and software each of our biosciences facilities contain and what experiments you can carry out with these.

Innovation for Health Learning Lab

This Lab will be where you’ll complete most of your undergraduate scientific practicals and can accommodate up to 200 students.

Undergraduate

Year 1

In your first year, you’ll familiarise yourself with some of the basic equipment by completing introductory experiments. Depending on the modules you study, the other experiments you’ll complete will vary.

Bacteriology

Carrying out serial dilution
Enumeration techniques for bacteria
Handling cultures
Isolating bacteria
Performing Gram stains
Using diagnostic tests to identify groups of bacteria

Biochemistry

Enzyme properties and the effect of substrate concentration
Protein assay and standard curve generation
Thin-layer chromatography
Titrations and use of a pH meter

Cell Biology

Histological staining
Light microscopical examination of histological specimens
Observation of dividing cells and their chromosomes
Subcellular fractionation of cauliflower by differential centrifugation

Evolutionary Origins of Biodiversity

Lake chemistry – turbidity, pH, nitrate an orthophosphate concentration, and dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll determination
Microscopy and odentification of algae protozoa and planktonic life
Sampling

Fundamental in Food Science, Nutrition and Microbiology: a practical approach

Maillard reaction and caramelisation

Starch-iodine interactions

Starch hydrolysis and Thin Layer Chromatography interpretation

Microbiology

Analysis of data
Culture techniques
Good microbiology practice
Microscopy

Molecular Biology

Gel electrophoresis
PCR
Using bacterial conjugation to illustrate the link between and organisms genotype and phenotype

Physiology

Cardiovascular function
Haematology – performing blood cell counts, measuring haematocrit and packed cell volume, and determining the ABO and rhesus blood groups of samples
Lung function testing

Years 2 and 3

As you move into your second- and third-year studies, you’ll complete more complex experiments, that again vary depending on the modules you take:

Analytical Biochemistry

Urinalysis for the investigation of clinical samples

Biomedical Microbial Products

Screening and discovery of bioactive products

Cellular Microbiology and Virology

Haemagglutination and haemagglutination inhibition assay
Plaque assay

Energy and Lipid Metabolism

Determination of total plasma cholesterol
High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triacylglycerol

Food Microbiology

Food poisoning – outbreak investigation
Meat microbiology
Milk microbiology
Yoghurt fermentation

Food Science

Analysis of caffeine by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
Chemical and physical characterisation of fats and oils
Compositional analysis of sausage
Determination of sugars
Functional properties of starch

Introduction to Immunology

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
Flow cytometry

Microbial Communities

Antimicrobial resistance
Dental biofilms and quorum sensing
Environmental biofilms

Molecular Biology and Genetics

Casting, running and visualising a gel, then analysing results
Genomic PCR
RNA isolation, quantification and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)

Pathology and Medicine

Functional properties of starch and sugar determination
Food fraud detection by ELISA

Postgraduate

On our MSc courses, you’ll use the lab for practical skills training during Welcome Week.

On our Food Science MSc, you’ll use the lab for an antioxidant capacity assay as part of the Food Chemistry and Health module.

Human Movement Lab

If you’re studying sport and exercise-science-related modules, you’ll get to use our Human Movement Lab.

Exercise Physiology Lab

You’ll also have access to our Exercise Physiology Lab, if you’re studying sport and exercise-science-related modules.

Food Research Lab

You’ll use this Lab if you’re conducting a nutrition research project as a final-year undergraduate or masters student.

Food and Nutrition Kitchen Lab

You’ll have access to this lab if you’re studying on one of our food science, nutrition and dietetics courses at undergraduate or masters level. You’ll develop your skills and understanding of food preparation, meal development, food hygiene and nutrition.

Year 1

In your first year, you’ll use the Food and Nutrition Kitchen Lab for two modules.

Principles of Nutrition and Health:

Plant-based diets – cooking and tasting different plant-based products, for example milk and other dairy products, egg alternatives, and fish and meat alternatives.

Portion-size practical – understanding the use of portion sizes and measuring out average portion sizes of commonly encountered foods.

Come Dine With Me – working in groups to produce a meal related to a specific ethnic diet. You will then eat together and present on the experience to a small group of peers.

Applied Skills in Nutrition:

Meal modification – cooking and modifying recipes to reduce fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, and increase fibre and protein, as well as modification to remove allergens. You’ll consider the nutritional implications of these modifications, assess sensory changes (e.g. texture, taste and smell), and consider elements like cost, sustainability, preparation time, and the skills required.

Year 2

In the second year of our Food Science and Nutrition BSc you’ll use the lab for the New Product Development module. This module is optional for our Nutrition BSc:

Reformulating food products and understanding the functionalities of main ingredients (fats, carbohydrates, proteins). Developing aspects such as sugar and fat replacement in products.

If you’re studying our Nutrition and Dietetics BSc, you’ll use the lab for the Applied Dietetics module:

Food fortification techniques – improving calorie and protein intake for individuals who struggle to maintain adequate oral intake. You will also use oral nutritional supplement drinks in recipes to improve palatability and compliance.

Dysphagia practical with Wiltshire Farm Foods – you will be producing texture modified meals from ready-prepared Wiltshire Farm Foods products, reflecting on the process and taste-testing.

Coeliac disease – preparing gluten free alternatives of different food products and comparing to their gluten containing versions.

Year 3

In your third year, you’ll have the option to use the lab for your research project, where you’ll reformulate and/or develop a new food product starting from conceptualisation to the finished product (previous examples include probiotic ice cream, high protein smoothies, seaweed bread, oleogel-based biscuits, carob-based sweet spreads, vegan butter and vegan coconut jam).

Masters students

On our MSc in Food Science, you’ll use the lab for the Food Processing and Development module:

Food product development – you’ll create a food product from the ideation stage to finished product, and work on concepts such as reduction or replacement (e.g. sugar replacement) or formulation of different food matrices. You’ll also investigate functionalities of ingredients and understand their chemical interaction from the physico-chemical point of view.

Research project – you’ll have the option to use the lab for your research project, where you’ll reformulate and/or develop a new food product starting from conceptualisation to finished product (previous examples include probiotic ice cream, high protein smoothies, seaweed bread, oleogel-based biscuits, carob-based sweet spreads, vegan butter and vegan coconut jam).

Ecotrophelia UK

The kitchen facility is key for the development of an eco-innovative new food product that students can submit to the Ecotrophelia competition. This prestigious competition is held yearly, involving teams from UK universities. The University of Surrey’s team has been successfully shortlisted in recent years, winning the competition in 2024, and going on to represent the UK in the European finals.