Hi everyone!

Spring has the lab buzzing – as much with new organisms as with new faces. Whether you joined us for a microscope demo, hauled trash off the beach, or joined us last night at the fermenter, thank you for helping Chicago’s community biotech lab grow. Here’s a quick pulse check on what we’ve done, what’s brewing, and how you can jump in.

🔬 What we’ve been up to

• Our Leica microscope event was a great success, giving participants hands-on experience with their powerful equipment

• We held a productive volunteer meeting to discuss opportunities for community involvement and future lab initiatives

• Our Earth Day event with AWIS, Chicago Council on Science and Technology, Chientist, and Illinois Science Council brought together speakers from various organizations:

  • Tara Lichtenberger from Budburst at The Chicago Botanic Garden

  • Olivia Reda from the Adopt-a-Beach Program at the Alliance for the Great Lakes

  • Kimberly Rivera from Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute

• We organized a successful beach cleanup at Pratt Boulevard Beach

• Our biotech fermenter last night at Off Color Brewing was packed!

🧫 Inside the lab

• New organisms: slime mold plates, algae culture & kombucha culture are happily multiplying for upcoming workshops

• We’re working through typical lab maintenance challenges! Our Biotech 101 workshop has been delayed while we repair our -80 freezer. Once that’s up and running, we’ll launch this long-awaited program.

• We’re also receiving a refrigerated centrifuge this week, which will allow us to make competent cells for the workshop.

🧬 Mark your calendar

• Beach Cleanups

  • Sunday, May 18th, 10am to 12pm, Pratt Boulevard Beach and Park

    • RSVP on Meetup

  • Sunday, June 1, 10am to 12pm, Kathy Osterman Beach

    • RSVP on Meetup

• Biotech Fermenter at HappiLabs

  • Tuesday, June 3, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, 2201 West Campbell Park Dr, Chicago, IL

  • Network with Chicago’s biotechnology professionals while enjoying pizza and refreshments provided by our hosts.

  • RSVP on Meetup

• Fungi Foraging

  • Saturday, June 28, 1pm to 3pm, North Park Village Nature Center

  • RSVP on Meetup

  • Join us for an exciting fungi-focused field trip in partnership with the North Park Village Nature Center and the Chicago Mushroom Club! We’ll:

    • Learn from mushroom experts as we explore the park

    • Identify various fungal specimens

    • Collect samples to culture in the lab

  • We’ll have related workshops at the lab demonstrating:

    • How to prepare media for mushroom cultivation

    • Techniques for growing mushrooms

    • Experimenting with different growth media

💻 Learn to code with biology

Are you interested in the computational side of biology? Some community members are organizing a free volunteer-led intro to bioinformatics/programming course.

If you’d like to participate:

• Complete this interest survey

• Preview the first problem we’ll solve together

This course starts with programming fundamentals, making it accessible to absolute beginners!

🙌 Volunteer with Us

Looking for a hands-on way to contribute? We’ve just added a Volunteer Form where you can let us know how you’d like to help—be it event planning, lab tasks, or special projects.

We’ll be reaching out soon regarding signing up for some of our events in the future!

Join Our Community on Discord 💬

Connect with fellow members, share ideas, and stay updated on all our events by joining our Discord channel.

Support ChiTownBio

As we open our lab, we need your help. Your donations will directly support the setup of our new space and help us bring cutting-edge biotech opportunities to the Chicago community.

Become a member: Bring your project or research to life at the lab!

Donate: Support our mission.

Contribute Supplies: Got spare lab equipment or materials? Email Us!

Share Your Ideas: Have a concept or project in mind? Let’s talk!

Thank You for being part of our community!

We look forward to welcoming you as a new member, seeing you during our lab hours, and connecting with you at our events. If you have any questions or need further details, feel free to reply to this email.

Dr. Andy Scarpelli

President, ChiTownBio

Lab Hours

Mon 12p – 7p

Wed 10a – 5p

Thu 12p – 7p

Sat 12p – 7p

ChiTownBio
6634 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL