HHMI: Lab Research Reviewed

Tuesday was the final day of the HHMI program. The program itself came to a close with a closing seminar that took place on Friday morning and concluded on Monday afternoon. It was quite entertaining as we were able to present our findings and give a final word on what we took from the summer research experience. Of course, I was able to say that I enjoyed the hands-on experience with many of the radioactive assays that we were able to perform.

The general avenue that we took for the design of the research program consisted of mainly trial and error techniques. Dr. Stewart and I did have a bit of guidance as each successive assay gave us new findings. I wont speak of many but one such indication enabled us to alter our protein usage to a smaller amount and to increase the speed of the assay from lasting ten minutes, to going to last a mere 30 seconds. I managed to learn valuable skills that enabled me to constantly write down new protocols. Protocols that consisted of honing in on the right quantity of solution to use in our protein analysis (Bio Rad was one of them, this one used a plate reader that is able to detect protein concentration through the use of dyes and spectrophotometry). Other protocols varied in their meaning, most of them we altered the usage of chemicals and times. Each of which were vital in trying to figure out the nature of our toxin and looking at its effects on our inhibitors and such. Ironically, although the actual writing of the protocol put me to sleep, actually doing the protocol was enjoyable. The worst part was, and still remains to be the part about making buffer solutions. Let me tell you, they can take in excess of eight hours to make.

Insight: What Drives Me

I have spent the last several weeks puzzling over several things in my life. These have all driven me to total seclusion in my room at times, for they have been of nearly paramount dimensions. Today is perhaps the first day that I have finally emerged from the room in high spirits. I have finally realized the areas that are really controlling my life and dictating the direction that I turn in. It is my ultimate goal, nonetheless, that I gain from this project a truly changed outlook of life.

The environments and events that take place all around me have all served to really define who I am today. Most of which is still present and still undermines and forms the basic foundation as to which I find myself seeking to be motivated by. It served and continues to serve as my motivation. It drives me to work towards my goals, and it even determines the direction that I take to get what I need. There are simply three things that I have discovered that serve some part, in some way to really give me that push to work and move forward.

1. Acknowledgment-Tristan has discovered that he seeks to ultimately gain some sort of acknowledgment and recognition from his parents. As he has striven to gain the best grades possible, and accomplish other things, he has discovered that he is a bit unsatisfied with his parents acknowledgment of this. He ultimately seeks to please them in everything so that he can have their nod of approval and receive great praise and love from them.

2. Anger- Tristan has discovered that he is extremely angry with the world. The world is an unfair place. Having lost the most important thing in his life, he is now angered with the fact that this event has happened to him. Unfortunately he boils over heavily with vengeance daily. Although nothing can be done, his anger with this one fact alone has driven him constantly to the point of completely breaking down. In order to not erupt into fury, he channels all of his anger into his schoolwork. Only in times of great anger could he make his best grades.

3. Fear-Tristan is afraid of many things around him. Although he may not show it outwardly, he is secretly always in fear. That is why he seems to always be on guard and is always such a hard person to communicate with. His fear has driven him to become a total loner at times. Only when someone has thrust them self or either proves to be a truly exceptional person will he completely reveal himself to that person. His fear of the past, the present, and the future has really dictated life. He has a fear of the secret motives of strangers; simply put, he is afraid of people and social events.

In the next insight we will explore, Happiness...

Midterm Report

HHMI Summer program is beginning to sap some of my life energy out of me. The most difficult aspect of the program has been finding a way to balance the events in the lab with the events of the program itself such as the classroom sessions. These sessions are quite interesting though but then the lab itself is interesting to. Building upon this as well, my mentor also has a few events come up now and again and then I have additional stuff with VCU that pops up too (for example like giving a campus tour because someone took my Saturday one or having to do a transcript request). But all in all I have been able to manage it.

Progress has been made nonetheless. I have managed to continue to conduct and perform several assays. We have been able to calculate the protein concentration within our plasma membranes and microsomes by doing a simple biorad analysis on the plate counter (which works by using light to analyze the content). We have also been able to conduct several uptake assays with the membranes and microsomes and seeing how they are affected by the addition of inhibitors in the presence of the radioactive aflatoxin. We are able to get numbers from this by simply using a machine that is able to count the radiation that is given off by the substances (a scintillation reader).

I have also continued to go on my quest of finding a major. I know that I have said that I am a Bioinformatics major, but I just don't feel any excitement from it. It is a nice and promising major but it doesn't seem like it will be all that thrilling to do for the rest of my life. I could manage doing it and all but when the cover is removed I want to really do something else. I almost want to do something non science even. In the sciences I can possibly see myself as a Paleontologist or people who study early Earth formation and such, that seems thrilling. I can also see myself as a museum curator or something, nothing too heavy in history though but more like science history. Right now I just don't know what I want. Ultimately though, I would not mind being one of the scientists, like the ones from Jurassic Park, who work to bring back dinosaurs from amber and such. I go to meet with my adviser to discuss additional things to do with my path. Right now I am leaning toward a double major in Bioinformatics and Clinical Laboratory Sciences, which seems to be something else that is interesting, I might get to work with pathogens and microbes (exciting).

Basically that is what has been going on for about the past few weeks of my silence. So hopefully I will have a bit much more to talk about.