This week has been great! I have met a lot of great researchers, all part of an animal physiology team. I have been working under Professor Katja Teerds in labs with her graduate students.
How has your first week “on the job” gone?
The first week was great! I started out obeserving, but by the second day, I was allowed to help with some of the slide staining procedures and then tissue cutting from parafin blocks.
What did you do?
I have toured all but one of the animal science facilities used by my work group. This includes the isotope labs, the photography lab, the rat behavior and experiment rooms, the livestock houses, the staining labs, and a lab for nutritionists and physiologists to use to test engergy consupmtion in humans. I have also done some hands on work preparing slides of testis from hypothalimic rats as well as preparing supplies for an upcoming radioimmune assay.
What did you learn?
I have learned quite a bit about how to use antibodies to stain certain cells in slides. In the lab I have been helping in, they are using vectastain and the ABC method, which is a very sensitive method of staining. I also sat in on some presentations of other projects going on currently. One of these was on the recognition by cells of a certain protein receptor that may be linked to cancer.
What did you find particularly interesting?
I find the process of using primary and secondary antibodies to stain specific cells for their function particularly interesting. It is amazing to me how this technique works. The girl I have been helping is staining testes for identification of Leydig cells. Only these cells will turn brown, while the rest of the tissue turns blue.
What did you find frustrating?
The only part I have found frustrating is how much each student is expected to just know. They just asked me to help, assuming I had all the skills necessary to do the job, but there are many things I have never seen before. At first, I thought this was just because I am at an earlier stage of schooling than the other students, but one student told me that this was the case for her as well when she came, and she wished she had had someone walk her through the basics the first time, but they were upset when she needed help.
I have been very lucky to see all these things they are doing. I feel very in the way when I am there, but I am appreciative that this team is willing to take time out and share what is going on and allow me to visit other labs.
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