Back in Austin

Hello everyone. I hope this post finds you well. This week, I had the great opportunity to present the research that I have been working since the summer to many graduate students, researchers, scientists, and fellow peers. I had a blast. I didn’t think that I would have that much fun presenting my work and talking to people about what I am doing at the university. There were six other students from UT that traveled with me to El Paso along with Sarah Simmons. We all got to know each other really well.

It was pretty much a poster session, but it was a lot more intimate. I had over ten people come up to my poster and we talked about what I did. My throat was so sore after it was over. Because it was a competition, I did get judged. I did not place, but hey, that’s okay. Actually, no one from our institution placed. However, I really do think that we all did a great job. For most of us, it was the first time we had ever done something like that. That alone was rewarding. I did get my scores from the judges, and I did really well. It was based on a scale from a 1-4. For the most part, I got 4’s, but also saw a few 3’s. Anyway, that wasn’t what mattered to me. I gained a whole lot of experience through this, and realized that I like presenting. I met so many interesting, intelligent, and ambitious people in El Paso that had very intriguing projects.

Overall, it was a great conference. I feel very lucky for getting this opportunity. If you all ever need help with setting up your poster, or if you all have any questions about what to do, let me know! I think it would be smart to look at templates before hand because the spring is closer than you think and it sucks when you leave things to the last minute.

Now I am back inAustin and am NOT ready for the hell that is waiting for me these next two weeks. Seven pictures due for my photography class, two exams in one day, three assignments due, Texas 4000 Application due, lab report, and trying to fix the monster under my bed (my lab notebook)! Oh boy, I have a lot of work to do, as I’m sure we all do! See you all tomorrow!

Extra computer locations

VDSers – you can now work on your Gold/PyMol and Xming stuff on the computers outside of my office when you need to. The programs have been installed on the windows computers.

Also, – ACA 1.126  the ‘super secret’ location in the trailer park that Kathryn showed us – should be getting SSH and PyMol. This lab is usually not very busy (in contrast to the crazy Welch lab)

A Not So Good Week in Lab

So everything that could go wrong, went wrong this past week in lab. I had struggle the Virtual Screening Refresher and could not get my run to actually RUN! Now, it is running so that is a relief. I got my target clone which I am really excited about. The initial sample of the HsCD00002513 was deemed “insufficient” based on the label on the tube. So I had to wait for a new sample to be created and I could determine the sequence of the plasmid by taking it to the CORE. Also, I discovered something rather weird about my vector, pDNR-Dual. This vector has two forward primers. Normally, most have a forward and a reverse primer. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the future.

Week 3

After studying for a test today that my friend had been apparently joking about (ha…ha), my third week ended with a pointless caffeine-binge like no other. This past week I dealt with acquiring DNA sequences for Zhang (pET-28c), some GOLD, and completing a successful PCR.

The first round of GOLD is probably sitting finished as I type, but last week I checked every day. By Friday (started Wednesday) the 4000 ligand compound library was roughly halfway done. The library was being screened by 50% of a blade (2 processors) and should handily be continued Monday.

Surprisingly, finding the primers for Zhang online was tricky. Sites like NCBI did not respond to queries like pET-28c and Zhang was ALWAYS the name of a researcher (in google). Another lab partner offered help.

A change was added to this week’s PCR process. The annealing temperature was lowered to 44 degrees Celsius whilst considering the enzymes inside the tube. The process was successful in distinguishing bands based on amount of plasmid.

Could it be? A viable clone?

After failing on making a ptp1b/PNIC clone many, MANY times. I finally got some growth. I picked a couple colonies and put them in the 37 degree incubator to see if it was actually growth that I saw- rather than bubbles (like Adam said it might be). The next day I came back to find my vials cloudy with life. I took a sample of 3 and 10 microliters from each vial and made a new plate for them and set them in the incubator. (I had to do this because I didn’t mark which colonies I picked). Also, I started my Virtual Screen Refresher.

This coming week is going to be a busy week, unfortunately. I’m going to check whether my clone was successful by sending it to DNA sequencing & by gel checking. Also, I’m going to finish my virtual screen refresher. If this clone is successful, I will continue on to making a master plate.