Week Two

My second week at the Arizona Biomedical Collaborative can be best described as a wacky and unique experience.

The week started normally enough.

On Tuesday, I, with the help my research supervisors Sarah and Caitlin, ran some more Wes plates. That day, I tested for the presence of neuroligin-1 in the prepared samples we were given. This procedure, compared with the procedure for glypican-4, takes considerably less time. The glypican-4 denaturation takes place at 37 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes plus heating up the heating bloc to 95 degrees Celsius for the biotinylated ladder control for 5 minutes with all the other standard procedures in place. In contrast, the neuroligin-1 denaturation process takes place at 95 degrees Celsius along with the ladder for 5 minutes. But technicalities aside, the runs were successful and I have completed quite some progress in two weeks.

On Wednesday, Caitlin did not show up to help us with the Wes procedure. So to pass the time working in the lab, I managed to double down slides by putting slides from one box in the freezer into another box to save space in a 4 degree Celsius room for three hours. It was not a job I expected to do, but one that I learned was vital to the organization of the lab.

But the highlight for the week was Thursday.

On Thursday, the labs hold their weekly lab meetings, where they review orders of business along other items on the agenda. This lab meeting, after all the items were taken care off, one of the lab regulars gave a presentation on an article that a reputable neuroscience journal had published related to the research in the lab. The lab regulars then proceeded, to much hilarity, rip the article into pieces regarding its factual assumptions and premises. Though the experience in general was hilarious, it taught a valuable lesson in what NOT to do in a research study.

On Friday, I hope to resume running Wes plates again, albeit for a different region.

Till next week, signing off.