Hello Everyone!
I can't believe that this is my last "official" day in the lab. I will continue to intern at TGen after graduation, but for now, I am done with my internship and my SRP.
Reflecting on the work I have completed the past few months, I am excited to compile it all together and present the information in the upcoming weeks. I find it shocking how time has passed by so quickly. I had to deal with some challenges and bumps along the way, but the research I have conducted has not left me empty-handed.
When I first started this SRP, I was not exactly sure what my research question was going to be. Will it just be about Rett Syndrome, will it be about the differences between the two kinds of Rett, or will it be more lab based than clinical? There were many things I had to consider. However, once deciding that my research question was more based on the specifics of Rett, I was excited to see how it will go from there.
The following link is to my research presentation. This google slideshow will bring all of the work I have completed together. I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to work in a lab with such great people and to further my experience in the research line.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Fy27Ah3npeCBHfKeijDIZm9Id8QL0XoVmEpNpcie0zQ/edit#slide=id.g129dbffc0c_1_430
Thank you for sticking with me during this entire process!
Sincerely,
Pooja
Friday, April 22, 2016
Friday, April 15, 2016
Blog 9: 4/15/16
Hello again!
I cannot believe how much time has passed by! I have one more official week left in the lab before my senior research project comes to a close.
This week I have been focusing a lot on my powerpoint. Practice presentations are coming up and soon after that, I have my final presentation.
I have broken up my presentation into a few categories. I initially focus on prior knowledge/ previous research on Rett Syndrome, my own research question, my research process in the lab, and analysis of results/ next steps.
Rett Syndrome is a relatively new field. Labs around the world are working hard to piece together information to find a cure for this disease.
Here is some information on Rett.
Symptoms
Not always detected at first, but a slowing of head growth is the first indication.
Loss of muscle tone.
Loss of hand function
Around 1 to 4 years, social and language skills deteriorate (social anxiety and withdrawal are common)
Uncoordinated breathing, epilepsy
Right now, there is no cure for this syndrome. BUT, it is curable. I am very excited to be a part of a lab that is working towards a cure for this disease.
The C4RCD (Center for Rare Childhood Diseases) website makes a wonderful comparison between the search to identify a unique genome string in a child to the story of a "Brave Zebra". This short story shows how conducting research on rare childhood diseases is like searching for a tiny lifeboat in a vast ocean, a quest that is difficult but proven to be successful in the story.
Thanks for keeping up with me. I can't believe that next week is my last week on this project.
I look forward to seeing how everybody's research comes along within the next few weeks.
Sincerely,
Pooja
I cannot believe how much time has passed by! I have one more official week left in the lab before my senior research project comes to a close.
This week I have been focusing a lot on my powerpoint. Practice presentations are coming up and soon after that, I have my final presentation.
I have broken up my presentation into a few categories. I initially focus on prior knowledge/ previous research on Rett Syndrome, my own research question, my research process in the lab, and analysis of results/ next steps.
Rett Syndrome is a relatively new field. Labs around the world are working hard to piece together information to find a cure for this disease.
Here is some information on Rett.
Symptoms
Not always detected at first, but a slowing of head growth is the first indication.
Loss of muscle tone.
Loss of hand function
Around 1 to 4 years, social and language skills deteriorate (social anxiety and withdrawal are common)
Uncoordinated breathing, epilepsy
Right now, there is no cure for this syndrome. BUT, it is curable. I am very excited to be a part of a lab that is working towards a cure for this disease.
The C4RCD (Center for Rare Childhood Diseases) website makes a wonderful comparison between the search to identify a unique genome string in a child to the story of a "Brave Zebra". This short story shows how conducting research on rare childhood diseases is like searching for a tiny lifeboat in a vast ocean, a quest that is difficult but proven to be successful in the story.
Thanks for keeping up with me. I can't believe that next week is my last week on this project.
I look forward to seeing how everybody's research comes along within the next few weeks.
Sincerely,
Pooja
Friday, April 8, 2016
Blog 8: 4/8/16
Hello again,
So this week went by slowly and a little different than normal.
I wasn't able to go in everyday since I was out of town for some time of the week and at school, meeting with a few teachers to update them on my busy schedule of this final trimester!
This week was slow because I was having trouble yielding successful results. I tried to cast a gel twice as big as the normal size I use. Unfortunately, I used the wrong casting tray and ended up messing up the gel and thereby losing a few samples. But it's no problem since today I am re-doing those samples! So far, I have received successful results!
As the SRP timeline is coming to a close, I find myself busy with more work than usual. Along with the work I do at TGen, the time has come for me to begin working on my presentation as well. Practice Presentations start soon and after that, the final presentations begin!
Although I am very excited to give a conclusive summary of my work the past 8 weeks, I have a lot to do before I am ready to present.
Thank you for sticking with me during this research project!
Pooja
So this week went by slowly and a little different than normal.
I wasn't able to go in everyday since I was out of town for some time of the week and at school, meeting with a few teachers to update them on my busy schedule of this final trimester!
This week was slow because I was having trouble yielding successful results. I tried to cast a gel twice as big as the normal size I use. Unfortunately, I used the wrong casting tray and ended up messing up the gel and thereby losing a few samples. But it's no problem since today I am re-doing those samples! So far, I have received successful results!
As the SRP timeline is coming to a close, I find myself busy with more work than usual. Along with the work I do at TGen, the time has come for me to begin working on my presentation as well. Practice Presentations start soon and after that, the final presentations begin!
Although I am very excited to give a conclusive summary of my work the past 8 weeks, I have a lot to do before I am ready to present.
Thank you for sticking with me during this research project!
Pooja
Sunday, April 3, 2016
Blog 7: 3/29/16
Hello Everyone!
Sorry I didn't post last week. I took the week off as my spring break.
However, after a well-rested week, I couldn't wait to come back to the lab and start my work again.
On Monday, I cast a gel on PCR samples that were run over the weekend by another intern. The samples turned out quite well except for the last few. Another thing I did on Monday involved a different mice species. These species are Naidu1 crossed with TSC. Naidu1 are the mice used when studying Rett Syndrome. TSC is a multi-system genetic disease called tuberous sclerosis that causes benign tumors to grow in the brain and other vital organs like the kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs, and skin. The reason these two mice species were crossed is because TSC activates MTOR pathways, which increases cell growth and metabolism while Rett Syndrome lacks this activation. This allows us to study Rett in species slightly easier. With these samples, I followed a new PCR protocol with new primers and ran a gel. It did not show up too clearly but that can be a direct result of the uniformity failure in the PCR machine itself.
Today, I ran a gel on the samples from yesterday and then uploaded another set of samples into the PCR. However, this time I followed my usual old protocol since these samples were just Naidu1. I ran the gel on these samples but did not have time to image them so I am not 100% it worked.\
Unfortunately, I will not be going into the internship for the rest of the week since I will be doing a few college visits the end of this week and the end of next. However, any work that I will be able to analyze on my computer or work on such as my article, I will definetely be doing so.
That's it for this week!
Thanks,
Pooja
Sorry I didn't post last week. I took the week off as my spring break.
However, after a well-rested week, I couldn't wait to come back to the lab and start my work again.
On Monday, I cast a gel on PCR samples that were run over the weekend by another intern. The samples turned out quite well except for the last few. Another thing I did on Monday involved a different mice species. These species are Naidu1 crossed with TSC. Naidu1 are the mice used when studying Rett Syndrome. TSC is a multi-system genetic disease called tuberous sclerosis that causes benign tumors to grow in the brain and other vital organs like the kidneys, heart, eyes, lungs, and skin. The reason these two mice species were crossed is because TSC activates MTOR pathways, which increases cell growth and metabolism while Rett Syndrome lacks this activation. This allows us to study Rett in species slightly easier. With these samples, I followed a new PCR protocol with new primers and ran a gel. It did not show up too clearly but that can be a direct result of the uniformity failure in the PCR machine itself.
Today, I ran a gel on the samples from yesterday and then uploaded another set of samples into the PCR. However, this time I followed my usual old protocol since these samples were just Naidu1. I ran the gel on these samples but did not have time to image them so I am not 100% it worked.\
Unfortunately, I will not be going into the internship for the rest of the week since I will be doing a few college visits the end of this week and the end of next. However, any work that I will be able to analyze on my computer or work on such as my article, I will definetely be doing so.
That's it for this week!
Thanks,
Pooja
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