This Lab Starts with a Cold Plunge

Take a deep breath, lean over a basin of ice-cold water and plunge your face in.

That’s how one lab begins for students in Prof. Jason Brown’s second-year animal physiology course at U of T Scarborough. 

As classmates watch an electro­cardiography monitor in real time, the icy shock triggers the body’s natural diving reflex, slowing the pulse. Students compare heart rate data collected under different conditions to see how the body responds.

The experiment is one of many designed to immerse students in the practice of science. Throughout the semester, they examine how pharmaceutical compounds influence the heart rate of water fleas, explore how temperature affects metabolism in crayfish and investigate nerve signalling using live tissue – all while gaining experience with the kinds of equipment and techniques used in biology research labs.

The course also moves beyond traditional lab instruction. Instead of writing standard lab reports, students create video abstracts, prepare grant proposals to purchase new lab equipment and tackle assignments on open-ended research questions that mirror the work of practising scientists.

“I want students to leave this course confident in their hands-on skills and their ability to work as biologists – not just a head full of facts,” says Brown.