This month, Higher Biology teachers from across Scotland participated in a specialised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course on precision medicine, hosted both in person at Govan High School and online. The course, developed to align with the Scottish Higher Biology curriculum, focused on emerging fields such as pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics (PGx), and precision medicine. 

Designed to equip teachers with both the knowledge and confidence to explore these topics with pupils, the programme provided a mix of up-to-date facts and insights, real-world examples, and engaging activities to bring into the classroom. 

In conjunction with the course, the Living Laboratory launched a new suite of free, classroom-ready teaching resources. These include: 

  • Pharmacogenomics (PGx) Debate Kit – exploring the question “Can Scotland implement PGx testing?” through role-play and discussion
  • Healthcare Innovation Career Cards – showcasing a diverse range of exciting career pathways in healthcare innovation
  • Codeine Case Study Video – offering a real-world application of PGx in action

The materials are now available for free download on the Living Laboratory's School & Family Resources page.

Teacher feedback highlighted the course’s effectiveness in boosting classroom readiness, with two participants remarking:

“I now feel so much more confident with teaching, especially the key areas which relate to this,” and, “It was so clear how well you’d thought this out – I’m pretty excited to embed this into my practice.” 

The Living Laboratory would like to thank all attendees for their participation and highlight our commitment to supporting educators as they prepare students for careers in the rapidly advancing field of healthcare.

A group of teachers in a classroom

For more information and to access the free classroom materials, visit our School & Family Resources page below.

Visit our School & Family page


First published: 30 May 2025

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