Article
Assessment of Knowledge of Participants
on Basic Molecular Biology Techniques
After 5-Day Intensive Molecular Biology
Training Workshops in Nigeria
From the †Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Division, Nigerian
Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, ‡Department of
Cell Biology and Genetics, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria,
§Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos,
Nigeria
Abstract
The deployment of molecular biology techniques for diag-
nosis and research in Nigeria is faced with a number of
challenges, including the cost of equipment and reagents
coupled with the dearth of personnel skilled in the proce-
dures and handling of equipment. Short molecular biology
training workshops were conducted at the Nigerian Insti-
tute of Medical Research (NIMR), to improve the knowl-
edge and skills of laboratory personnel and academics in
health, research, and educational facilities. Five-day molec-
ular biology workshops were conducted annually between
2011 and 2014, with participants drawn from health,
research facilities, and the academia. The courses con-
sisted of theoretical and practical sessions. The impact of
Keywords: Molecular biology; techniques; training; assessment
Introduction
The burden of communicable and noncommunicable dis-
eases are great in developing countries, therefore accurate
diagnosis is essential for effective treatment. Diagnosis is
Volume 00, Number 00, Month/Month 2017, Pages 00–00
*To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 108037058989.
E-mail: stellaismith@yahoo.com.
Received 30 August 2016; Revised 28 October 2016; Accepted 13
November 2016
Disclosure: The authors hereby declare that there is no conflict of
interest.
Ethical approval: This article does not contain any study that required
ethical approval.
DOI 10.1002/bmb.21039
Published online 00 Month 2017 in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com)
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education
J. I. Yisau†
A. O. Adagbada†
T. Bamidele†
M. Fowora†
B. I. C. Brai†
O. Adebesin‡
M. Bamidele†
T. Fesobi†
F. O. Nwaokorie†
A. Ajayi§
S. I. Smith†*
the workshops on knowledge and skill acquisition was
evaluated by pre- and post-tests which consisted of 25 mul-
tiple choice and other questions. Sixty-five participants
took part in the workshops. The mean knowledge of molec-
ular biology as evaluated by the pre- and post-test assess-
ments were 8.4 (95% CI 7.6–9.1) and 13.0 (95 CI 11.9–14.1),
respectively. The mean post-test score was significantly
greater than the mean pre-test score (p < 0.0001). The five-
day molecular biology workshop significantly increased the
knowledge and skills of participants in molecular biology
techniques. VC 2017 by The International Union of Biochem-
istry and Molecular Biology, 00:000–000, 2017.
concerned with identifying the cause of a disease or precise
and consistent outcomes that are results of direct or indirect
actions, reactions and interactions between the cause of a
disease and the host [1]. Prior to the advent of molecular
biological methods for the detection and characterization of
microorganisms, the emphasis of basic biomedical science
was on studying diseases in patients and using diagnostic
techniques such as isolation, culture, and microscopy [2, 3].
However with the development of molecular markers for
infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and
for disease genes of noncommunicable diseases, molecular
biology techniques have become attractive due to their high
specificity, sensitivity, and turnaround time.
Molecular typing methods, such as restriction fragment
length polymorphism (RFLP), pulse-field gel electrophoresis
(PFGE) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) have
become increasingly useful in typing and discriminating
1
 Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology Education

Summary of educational background of participants

TABLE 1

No. of
students Degree Field of specialty Institution

15 PhD 2-Parasitology All University

5-Biochemistry
4-Biotechnology
3-Microbiology
1-Genetics
16 MSc 2-Biochemistry 1-Research institute
2-Biotechnology 1-Polytechnic
4-Microbiology 14-University
8-Genetics
7 MBBS/MBDS 1-Oral Pathology & Biology All, University Teaching Hospitals
1-Obsterics & Gynecology
1-Preventive Medicine
2-Chemical Pathology
2-Medical Microbiology
13 BMLS/FIMLT 2-Haematology 1-Polytechnic
2-Microbioloy 4-Private laboratory
1-Virology 2-Research Institute
2-Parasitology 6-University Teaching Hospitals
1 HND Science Laboratory Technology Polytechnic
13 PhD students 4-Biochemistry University
3- Cell Biology & Genetics
4-Microbiology
2-Molecular Genetics
Total 65

among pathogenic isolates, while PFGE is useful for the
assessment of interrelatedness of pathogens, RFLP is used
for typing pathogens of the same species, while RAPD is use-
ful for the detection of genetic diversity in pathogens [4].
Useful as these techniques are, their deployment in
Nigeria for disease diagnosis and biomedical research
presents with myriads of challenges which includes the
cost of equipment, reagents, and the skilled manpower to
operate equipment for carrying out tests and accuracy in
interpreting results. The requirement for skilled manpow-
er is further heightened by the increase in number of
postgraduate students carrying out researches that
involves the use of molecular techniques. Studies have
shown that training provides learners with hand-on expe-
rience and updates their knowledge, especially when
combined with work on ongoing research in research lab-
oratories [5].
The molecular biology workshop organized by the
Molecular Biology Division of the Nigerian Institute of Medi-
cal Research (NIMR), was designed to bridge the knowledge
gap in molecular biology techniques in Nigeria.
The aims of the workshop were:
1. To train participants the art of molecular biology
2. To impart on participants the requisite knowledge to
perform basic molecular biology techniques and their
underlying principles
3. To acquaint participants with the ethics of their chosen
fields of biology
4. To facilitate collaborations between participants and the
Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (participant–par-
ticipant interaction, NIMR–participants interaction)
5. To contribute to the effort to increase the critical mass
of molecular biologists in Nigeria
Methodology
Short courses in molecular biology were conducted to
improve the skills of laboratory and research personnel to
perform basic molecular biology techniques for disease
diagnosis as well as for research, with participants drawn

2
 Course synopsis of theoretical and practical class sessions.
PLA 1
from both private and public health facilities, research
institutions, and the academia as shown in Table 1. Five-
day molecular biology hands-on-training courses were con-
ducted annually between 2011 and 2014. Two courses
were conducted in 2011 making a total of five hands-on-
training courses. The courses included theoretical and
practical sessions. The theoretical session consisted of
classroom lectures in ethics and various aspects of molecu-
lar biology as they relate to specific disease agents that are
of medical importance in Nigeria (Plate 1). The practical
session consisted of a hands-on active learning, in which
the participants were taken step wise through the proce-
dures of specific molecular biology techniques. The techni-
ques covered during the workshops included, DNA extrac-
tion from Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria,
nucleic acid quantification with nanodrop technology, plas-
mid profiling, and restriction endonuclease analysis, poly-
merase chain reaction (PCR) of specific segments of the
genome of infectious agents, gel electrophoretic analysis of
amplicons obtained and gel scoring with regards to the
positive identification of the infectious agent in the sample
from which it was isolated and use of fluorescent in situ
hybridization (FISH) of nucleic acid using rRNA probes for
the diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori, the causative agent of
peptic ulcer disease.
The participants’ knowledge was evaluated at the
beginning prior to the administration of the course and at
the end after the administration of the course through pre-
and post-test questions that were the same. The evaluation
was based on a set of 25 questions which comprise both
multiple choice questions as well as problem solving cover-
ing both practical and theoretical aspects of the course
(Plate 2). For the practical aspect, participants were to
interpret the results of the electrophoretic analysis.
Data obtained were inputted into Microsoft Office Excel
2010, converted into a CSV (comma separated values) file
3

Format of questions that were administered for both pre and post-test evaluations.
PLA 2
format and imported into R Statistical software for Win-
dows. Data analysis was done using R statistical software
for Windows, version 3.1.1
Results
Overall, a total of 65 pre- and post-test records of partici-
pants who participated in the molecular biology workshops
4
Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology Education
and completed both assessments over a period of 4 years
were analyzed. The mean pre-and post-test scores were 8.4
(95% Cl: 7.6–9.1) and 13.0 (95% Cl: 11.9–14.1), respectively.
The distribution of the scores for the two categories of tests
is shown in Fig. 1. Table 2 shows the distribution of the raw
scores. There was a significant difference in the median pre-
and post-test scores (p < 0.001). Analysis of the professional
affiliations of the participants showed that 60 of the

Boxplot of scores of participants in the multiple
FIG 1 choice question for the pre- and post-test assess-
ment. The bold line through the boxes repre-
sents the median scores of each test category.
participants were academics, 9 of whom were from research
institutions, and 51 from universities. The remaining five
participants were medical laboratory scientist from specialist
hospitals. The participants represented 16 states of Nigeria.
Discussion
The training undertaken during the molecular biology work-
shops showed a significant difference in the post- and pre-
test assessment, with higher scores in the post-test assess-
ment. Although the number of days did not vary, it was
observed that a 5-day workshop would be sufficient to
impart knowledge on the participants who demonstrated
increasing interest and greater confidence each day through
the practical sessions which were complemented by class-
room sessions. Majority of the participants were drawn from
the academia, this is due to the fact that contact persons of
the organizers who were instrumental to awareness crea-
tion for the workshops were mainly from the academia.
In an evaluation of the impact of molecular biology
training on participants using a combination of online train-
ing materials and hand-on laboratory experience, partici-
pants gave positive feedbacks on the impact of training on
knowledge and skill acquisition [6]. This corroborates our
study in which a combination of theoretical lectures and
hand-on laboratory sessions also elicited improved perform-
ances in an assessment tests from participants. In addition,
it was observed that majority of lecturers who had given lec-
tures on molecular biology techniques to students did not
have any practical experience, so the workshop availed
them the opportunity of acquiring first-hand the requisite
practical molecular biology technique skill they needed for
better understanding of what they taught their students.
It is not known if a 2-week practical session would have
done better, but we are confident that some of the partici-
pants who are lecturers would go on to pass the knowledge
Distribution of the scores for the pre- and
TABLE 2 post-test assessments
Pretest Class marks Post-test
frequency frequency
19 0–6 7
39 7–12 24
7 13–20 29
0 21–25 5
Total 65 65
to their students with a better understanding following the
skills they acquired at the workshop. One of the aims of the
workshop was for the participants to also start up molecular
biology training in their localities with the capacity they
have acquired with support from the workshop organizers
where required. This is about to commence in a center
where one of the participants who attended our courses is
to organize a training course in molecular biology.
Our result therefore show that knowledge and skills
were imparted during the course of the training and these
will provide teachers with the knowledge of laboratory tech-
niques to enable better learning by the students prior to
working in a molecular biology laboratory. It is also believed
that with the wide attendance of the workshop participants
from five geo-political zones out of six, many universities in
Nigeria will be better positioned in the area of molecular
biology techniques for research and development.
Conclusion
Following the effectiveness of molecular biology techniques
workshop recorded in this study it would be imperative for
institutions to adapt this model in the training of personnel.
However, this can be optimized and remodeled to suit insti-
tutional purpose.
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