This lab experience has been challenging at times, but ultimately I'm glad I got the opportunity. I have learned about how professional lab research is conducted and that it is anything but a linear process. I was able to learn a lot from other students in the lab. Without them, I never would have been able to get anything done in the lab or even log into a computer. I was able to further my knowledge of neuroscience. While I probably will not go into research when I'm older, I found that I really like neuroscience. Hopefully I am able to at least take a neuro course in college.
Ultimately, I was surprised that the research process is so spread out in terms of time and projects being done at once. In Annalisa's lab, everyone seemed to have their own project to focus on that related to the larger topic of OCD. This spread people out across the lab, but everyone tried to talk to each other and bounce ideas off each other. The process of conducting research itself is very long and tedious, which causes the research to spread out. To make things harder, as you are conducting research, other people are too. You have to constantly keep up with what's happening in the science community while simultaneously getting your ideas out there too. No wonder there's an image of the "mad scientist!" 'til next year...
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Today was my final day in the lab! For the first hour I sat down with Annalisa and went over my presentation. We made some changes to the title of the presentation and tweaked a few individual slides. Afterwards, I listened to a senior at UAlbany give her end of the year presentation. She was planning to build a prototype of a treadmill that mice will walk on with a virtual reality simulation around them in order to see how wild type mice and mice that display OCD interact. It was exciting to hear what she was doing in the lab and to get an idea of what other people worked on. Especially since I only come for a few hours once a week, it was nice to meet someone I usually don't see and hear about her project.
While my internship has had its ups and downs, I am very grateful I had the opportunity to be in the lab. I got to learn a lot about the scientific research process, and now I will certainly appreciate the effort that is put into every scientific paper I read. Next year I hope to work in another lab and to perform more hands on activities. In Annalisa's lab, it has been extremely hard to get the hands on work that I want. This is partially because I come in on Tuesday afternoons which tends to be quiet, but also because I am a minor and I am only in high school. However, I have hope that things will improve in the future and that I will have a good experience next year! 'Til the next time... Today I met with Annalisa for most of my lab time and talked. I think ultimately there was a misunderstanding between my expectations from the lab and her expectations from me. When I first met Annalisa in the beginning of the year she asked me whether I was more interested in coding or hands-on in lab activities. I told her in lab activities, and she said that I might just have to come in and do something different everyday. I would have to come in and see what people were doing. So, for most of my time in the lab I would ask Lianna what I would be doing in the lab the day before or ask Annalisa. After talking to Annalisa today, it is clear she wanted me to start doing a project on my own months ago, but I did not know that.
Last year, the student from my high school who had this internship was tasked with created a computer model of the synapse, and she had no help doing it. This project was her own, and she was able to work on it while back at our high school. However, I did not want to have a coding project. I wanted the opportunity to try different lab techniques and work with things hands on. So, I was exciting to do what Annalisa said would happen back in November; I was excited to try something new everyday and to do different hands on activities. However, in reality, I would go to the lab and trace neurons or astrocytes. Annalisa thought she was giving me the guidance I wanted and my own project to work on at the same time. However, it never quite met her expectation of me coming up with my own technique to solve a problem. It never fit my expectations of doing different lab techniques and getting first hand experience. Ultimately, I am glad that I have been given this opportunity, and I am glad Annalisa wants me to be a scientist doing my own work rather than just being a lab technician. However, I think I am currently at the point where I have not had enough basic science background to even become a scientist. I haven't even finished taken my first ever biology course. So, maybe in the future I will become a research scientist, but for now I would be ok just learning and observing. If that requires me being a lab technician than so be it. Now, I will work on my presentation that I will first present to Annalisa's lab on Tuesday. Then, I will polish it up and present it in front of our school community next month. 'Til the next time... April 10, 2018
Today was a clean up day in the lab. All of the exciting things are happening tomorrow, so I mostly just helped clean around the lab. I cleaned glassware and out it back. I washed the counter tops and put new mats down. I also helped make a 50 mL solution with 30% sucrose and PBS as the solvent. PBS is a combination of different bases. They are using it tomorrow in one of the many things that are happening. What exactly is happening escapes me. Lianna tried to explain some things that are happening, but I quickly became confused and mixed things up. I am pretty sure she said that a new litter of mice is coming tomorrow. I guess I’ll find out next week. ‘Til the next time... I did not go to my internship this week because of spring break.
I did not go to my internship this week because of spring break.
I did not go to my internship this week because of spring break.
I did not go to my internship this week because it is UAlbany's spring break.
March 6, 2018
Today I worked on more EM reconstructions while everyone else continued experiments or analyzing data from last week. It turns out someone had to be in the lab 24 hours a day last week. They were measuring the temperature of the mice throughout the day and night to measure the mice's normal thermoregulation. I think this may be connect to the comparison of astrocytes during the day versus the night. Perhaps as the astrocytes are used more, more energy is produced, and thus, the mice have higher body temperatures during the day. As I was doing EM reconstructions, my mentor cane over and asked what I was tracing. I picked up from where the last person left off, but apparently I had been tracing a neuron rather than an astrocyte. Since neurons have neurotransmitters and receptors, neurons appear to have black spots on the images. Thus, most of my work had to be deleted. My mentor believe that another high school student was doing the reconstructions before me and she must have messed up. At least I now know the difference, so I should be able to spot the mistake in the future. However, I still find the images rather hard to read. I don’t think it will get easier unless I just do more practice. ‘til the next time... February 27, 2018
Today in the lab I worked on EM reconstructions. Everyone else has been running experiment after experiment, so it was just Justin and I sitting in the computer area trying to do the reconstructions for the last 45 minutes I was in the lab. The first two hours I was there, I used instructions that Justin left me to open the files and I start doing the reconstructions. It’s a small victory, but I’m glad I was able to figure out how to get the program up and running as Justin had only left a how-to on opening the files. The edges of the astrocytes became blurry towards the end, so I did not get to do as many as I wished I could have; the images became very hard to read. Annalisa said this could be because of a curve in the cell or the membrane could have broken in the process of getting the image. Ultimately, I wish I had been able to finish more, but that’s what next week is for. Since everyone was busy running labs and there was a visitor in the lab, it was a bad time to ask for someone to explain some methods used in the lab (in order to not only improve my understanding of what’s happening in the lab, but also to help with my paper). I might wait until next week to ask since everyone is so busy running experiments. Apparently people have come in at one a.m. to check on things as well. Since it has been so busy, I have not even had a chance to ask what the experiments are for. However, once things settle down I will ask; hopefully it will calm down next week. ‘Til the next time... |
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