Week Two

I have still been primarily observing and learning during my time in the lab, but I have started to help more and complete some tasks with less supervision. Next week, the post-doc, lab technician, and even my mentor will be gone for various reasons, so I will be working solely with the graduate student for most of the week since the other undergraduate student only comes in some of the time. I think that I will be working more hands-on during the upcoming week because of this. This week, I worked on two gels with the other undergraduate student that works in the lab with me and observed DNA isolation performed on human blood samples. Isolating DNA is fascinating because towards the end you can see thin strings collecting in the liquid that is the DNA itself, so even though you cannot see the exact molecular structure of the DNA, you can see the DNA.

Figure 1. My representation of isolated DNA strands in a PCR tube. 

Working with blood required the graduate student, lab technician, and I to wear lab coats for protection since blood samples can cause disease exposure. The importance of lab safety when working with blood was highlighted by a recent nationally-reported case of a researcher contracting the Zika virus from an accident in a University of Pittsburgh lab in my building where they were studying it (Hauser, 2016).

There are strict regulations for researchers who work with animals, so I first had to have my name added to the lab's official protocol before I could go anywhere near the high-security area where the mice are kept. Once I was allowed in, I had to put on a protective body suit, booties, a hair net, a face mask, and gloves before entering for my safety as well as for the mice. Wearing so much protective gear and needing to wait for clearances just to enter the area made me feel very important, as if I was doing something very special. The facility the mice are in has only one way in and one way out, to try to avoid contamination from the outside. When working directly with the mice, even another pair of gloves must be worn in case they bite. The mice can transmit disease through their feces and urine, so their living quarters must be treated as biohazard as human blood is.

Figure 2. Biohazard sign for a level 2 facility, which is the level I work in (CDC). 

On the regular lab floor, all of the lab areas look quite similar. The one way I can quickly differentiate the Padiath lab from the others is a poster directly above one of the computers that has a picture of a mouse with a zebra patterned coat on it. I'm not sure who put the poster there, but I really enjoy it and I think it sums up the work with transgenic mice that is done here, even if that exact type of genetic modification may not be possible.

When I first came in on Monday, I found out that that the post-doc I am working with is in a band. I have always been someone who has loved music and performing, and have been lucky enough to be involved in and lead musical groups and performances at Chatham. Sometimes it has felt as though as I get farther along in pursuing a career in science, I will be forced to give up music and performing altogether since it will be impossible to split my time between my work as a scientist and as a musician. During my Spring semester, I was taking all science courses and so many credits that it was very difficult to find the time to immerse myself in music as I would like. I had a performance lined up for the entire year and once I was able to rehearse and perform, I realized again how much I missed it. However, scientific research is also very important to me, so hearing that someone who is at such a high level in their scientific career is still able to pursue both music and science gives me hope.

Before starting every Monday morning, everyone working in the lab meets with my mentor to discuss progress and what needs to be done next. Since I am now working in the lab, I am part of these meetings and must give an update of my work as well. These meetings help bring everyone's individual work together to show the importance of each task in the overall research project. I have found that there is a lot of pressure when completing tasks in a research lab because any and every mistake can set back the research and waste time, but it is also incredibly rewarding since the work can have a real impact on people when it goes well.

On Wednesday, my mentor took our entire research team out for lunch at Stack'd. It was nice to get to know each other outside of lab time, and to spend some time with my mentor since the only time we see him is when he stops by the lab occasionally to check-in and make sure everything is going well, other than the Monday meetings. My mentor did not have to go out of his way to be kind to us by taking us out for lunch, and it made me feel as though he really cares about us that he did.

The Friday luncheon this week also featured my mentor as the lecturer. During his lecture, I was able to hear about the background of the project I am working on. I also learned that he found the gene responsible for the disorder we are studying during his post-doctoral work, which is remarkable to me.

References:

[CDC]. n.d. Quick Learn Lesson: Recognizing the Biosafety Levels. <http://www.cdc.gov/training/quicklearns/biosafety/>.

Hauser, C. 2016. Lab Worker in Pittsburgh Is Accidentally Infected With Zika Virus. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/11/science/lab-worker-in-pittsburgh-is-accidentally-infected-with-zika-virus.html>.