Sum of My Experience

So I have been back at Bennington for a week and I need to reflect on my experiences at UCSF. I really enjoyed my time there and I a counting the days until I go back for the summer. I got to dip my toe into the pool of scientific research and I am very ready to dive in. I have gotten to spend time practicing the foundation of research in a very warm environment. I spent the beginning of my Field Work Term shadowing lab members and taking copious amounts of notes. I got to ask questions and thoroughly understand the processes of PCR (polymerase chain reaction), Gel Electrophoresis, Passaging and Feeding Cells, Nanodrop Light Spectrometry, Allocating Solutions, and disposing of Biohazardous Waste. During my downtime in the lab I spent it reading various scientific articles that were written by members in the lab. The articles mainly pertained to Sickle Cell Anemia and Cystic Fibrosis because those are the genetic diseases that the lab is currently working with. Once I got more familiar with the various processes, I was able to isolate DNA, take care of cells, and run gels while being supervised. Eventually I was able to feed and passage the cells I was in charge of without a fellow lab member looking over my shoulder. On Fridays we would all come together and have our weekly meetings, which were very insightful because I got to learn about the successes and failures of other members’ different experiments.

Not only did I get to learn about what I want to do as a scientific researcher, but I also got to practice and further my Japanese skills with a lab member, Shingo Suzuki. That was incredibly fortunate because my concentration here at Bennington is in Biology and Japanese. Since San Francisco also has a decent sized Japanese population, I was able to make other friends to speak Japanese with. I feel very prepared for my upcoming Japanese course, where we will be learning about Japanese cinema, because of my Field Work Term here in San Francisco.

This Field Work Term I also got to figure out what kind of path I should take to reach my personal goal. I will be attempting a MD PhD, which might be very ambitious, but I will be trying my hardest. I was originally only going to aim for a PhD and completely bypass the medical school process. One of the other lab members, Ryan, is becoming a doctor and speaking with him I realized that I would also like to understand the clinical side of research and be able to go from lab to bedside in my research. Thankfully, my school track does not have to change for me to follow the track because I have always been planning on taking all of the premed requirements. My work in the lab did prepare me very well for going back into the academic environment. I am currently taking Calculus, Chemistry 2, and an Animal Biology course. Both sciences have labs, which will be a completely different lab procedure, since the sciences are very different, but basic lab no how essentials are important to keep fresh in your mind. Also my reading of many dense, scientific articles over term have kept the process of being able to understand and analyze them thoroughly fresh in my mind. Reading scientific articles does take a learned set of skills if you want to read them correctly and Bennington College and the lab at UCSF have kept that set reinforced in my brain. The Horizon of my future looks very bright from here and I am very happy with all of my experiences from Field Work Term.

Post for the week of 2/2-2/6

I was sick most of the week this week, which was very sad. I spent the week reading scientific articles that were written by Lab Members. I was given about 15 articles printed by Dieter Gruenert for me to read in my down time and then I went on PubMed, a scientific article resource center, and found many more articles. I estimate that I read and High-Lighted 37 different papers. Although the my work was mostly cerebral I found it very useful for putting all of the terminology being thrown around the lab into context. It is very nice to read scientific articles that are not assigned to you for academic reasons because you can read them with a bit more leisure. Whenever I read a SA for school I then have to write a response, so I tend to break down the article into bits and pieces that are more useful for whatever I must write and I no longer focus on the article as a whole. This opportunity to read up on the works of the people around me has made the articles more interesting because the articles have more life. If I do not understand something and can ask questions of the authors as opposed to having to make frustrating guess work.

Meet The Lab Members

Dieter Gruenert Head of Lab

Geoff Sargent A Collaborator with Dieter

Michael Yezzi Staff Research Associate

Shingo Suzuki Post Doctoral Fellowship

Ryan Di Geronimo Intern

Luke Gruenert Intern

Martin Mancini Intern

On My Own

This past week was the last week for both of the interns that were my age (Luke Gruenert and Martin Mancini). I will be the only undergrad working in the lab all five days a week and I am a little nervous. I really enjoyed working with people my age and I am sad that they are leaving because of the friendships that were formed. I will be working in the lab over summer, so I will most likely see them both again in a few months, but it will be very new for me not having them around. This week I also have been doing more on my own and I feel like I have a very good footing for doing work on my own. I got sick this week, which was quite unfortunate, but I am back on my feet and feeling better. I also communicated with my Bennington College Advisor and Cellular Biology Faculty Member, Amie McClellan about the opportunity to observe and possibly help out in the Cell Lab back in Bennington and I was given the green light. I am very excited because I will be able to keep my information from this fieldwork term back in my mind and I will not have to relearn as much for summer. I have been reading a lot of scientific articles by Dieter Gruenert and other lab members and so now I have a lot better handle on the jargon that is constantly being thrown around.

Getting more experiences than I could even hope for!

The lab that Gruenert uses as a facility for research is home to two other groups. One of which is run by Tetsu Osamu, who is Japanese. Not to mention that in our lab group we have the astoundingly brilliant Shingo Suzuki, who is also Japanese. I did not have the feintest idea that I would be able to speak Japanese in the lab. With the two of them here I not only have ample opportunity to practice my speaking (which I am very, very thankful for), but I am also learning about opportunities for me to work in Japan! This is more than I could have ever dreamed for. I have always wanted to spend time working in a lab and the first time I do I am welcomed into the world of science with such open arms. I cannot suppress the  excitement bubbling through me and I figure this blog is the perfect place to let it all out. At least I know that I will be well over the minimum of words written and posts posted that our required by Bennington College and I hope that others that have a dream of getting into the scientific field will read this and feel that it is not so far away. Lab work is attainable at any level and you shouldn’t hesitate to e-mail and pester anyone that you would want to work for because even if they do not have space, many of them are genuinely kind people who enjoy helping those with a passion for science.

Tour of the Lab

I am sorry I made an error the freezer contains A LOT of things, (but probably not cells) like enzymes ( I am alone in lab and allowed to make mistakes)

Pictures

Working!

For the first few days I only really followed the other lab members around and took copious amounts of notes, however as of January 14th I was able to finally sign up for the Cell Hood! I passaged some HAEo- cells (Human Airway Epithelial Cells)  that were specifically given to me to be able to form a solid foundation in taking care of cells. I was given them because someone had ordered the cells from us and there were extras from passaging. I learned that it is easier for me to passage cells on the left side of the cell hood because I am left handed.

The next day (1/15/15) I actually got to isolate the DNA from my HAEo- cells so that another lab member, Luke (I will set up a picture introduction soon), could use the DNA as a negative control for a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). Even though I admit it was sad to kill my cells after just getting them, I was excited to practice isolating genomic DNA. I have now been given CFBE41o- Cells (Cystic Fibrosis Bronchial Epithelial Cells) to look after.

This lab experiences that I have had so far are very different from what I experienced last year. I was working for a company in Japan and a lot of what I had to do was very easy to immediately dive right into. However, in the lab, there are so many mistakes that can create massive problems. So, I have to learn everything carefully and make my way up to being truly useful in the lab. One of my biggest struggles is that I have to be patient and work my way up to being helpful, which sometimes means sitting and reading scientific articles for hours instead of jumping in and getting my hands dirty right away. The need to feel useful is what I am struggling with, but I believe it is a very valuable lesson: you have to pick up the skills and knowledge before you can truly help out. I have been invited to be able to work here over the summer as well and I am thrilled at the opportunity because having 3 months more of experience will allow me to go even further in the lab.

Intro to my blog

Hello!

My name is Isabelle M. Clendenen, I am Sophomore at Bennington College. Each year during January and February we have an internship period known as Fieldwork Term. Since my plan (our equivalent of a major) is in Biological Sciences and Japanese, I was fortunate enough to land a position as an intern in Dieter Gruenert’s lab at UCSF Mt. Zion. This will be my first formal experience in a lab and so I am very excited and nervous about this job. I hope to work in a lab similar to this one someday, so this is a dream come true. One of my goals this FWT is to learn proper lab procedure and get efficient at basic lab procedures such as culturing and passaging cells. This blog will be exploring working under lab conditions.