"...more pics to come".....
has it really been over two months since my last
post??
I've had these pictures for a while, but work and
life has gotten SUPER busy for me and I haven't been able to dedicate an evening
to update the blog until tonight. The good news is that there is a light at the
end of the tunnel, so to speak, with the graduate school business....my thesis
work is taking form, and my PI has told me that she sees the story that is
unfolding. We are anticipating that I finish next
summer.
However, she told me in no uncertain terms, that she does not intend on me a) waltzing out of her lab with a PhD or b) spending the next 5 years skiiing, climbing, biking, and occasionally patch clamping and obtaining earth-shattering data but only when the moon is full and its next to Jupiter. No, I have work to do and i've been trying my hardest to get things cranking in the lab.
But combine the desire to be ultra-prodictive with a MAJOR move! The ADD lab is expanding, and we, the Wilcox lab, was finally able to move to the holy grail of our building, the ground floor. In patch clamping, mechanical vibrations are a sure killer. Imagine trying to patch a living cell with a glass electrode...you're basically blasting a hole in its membrane, and praying that the cell doesn't notice--if it does, and it doesn't like it, POP goes the cell, and your experiment with it. Now, imagine the entire floor shaking with every person's footstep while you're trying to poke a 1 micron size hole in the side of a cell. How small is a micron? it is 1/25,000 of an inch, 1/1000 of a millimeter. a human hair is about 50 microns, the bacteria that causes Staph infections is about a half micron. So any type of vibration that we can see with our eyes, with our scopes, is HUGE. Anyway, the entire lab moved downstairs, and in that process, I was able to tear apart the electrophysiology rig, and build it back up, which was a great learning experience. The rig is now fully operational and so far, no vibrations.
So, in addition to cranking out data in the lab and moving, we have submitted two abstracts. The first is to the Eighth European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease in London, England. Needless to say, we are very excited to present at this conference. First, it is a conference specifically on glial cells, and all of the stars in the field will be there. I am really excited to meet the researchers whose papers I carry around with me (either physically, mentally, or almost, spiritually). The researchers who will be presenting at this conference represent the emerging field of glial biology. Their work has directly inspired hundreds of researchers, students, and projects. Their papers have begged us to question the most commonly held doctrines in neuroscience, disease, and development. Secondly, I've never been to Europe, and I'm eagerly anticipating setting foot in London.
The second meeting we will attend this year is the American Epilepsy Society meeting in Philadelphia, PA. I have attended this meeting several times before (Seattle, Boston, New Orleans) and it is exciting every time. I think that we will be presenting exciting data at both meetings, and I'm hoping for a good turn out at the poster sessions.
In addition, the work that we have accomplished in the past year and a half is being submitted in grant form to the National Institute of Health. It was quite a scramble to get all the figures ready, but our fearless leader has put together a very exciting proposal. I'm eagerly awaiting the results to see if we get funded.
I also presented my work at the Annual Student Symposium at the University in early May. It was great to show my work to my fellow students and to the post docs and professors in the audience, and to be asked questions and talk about my research. This was really a rewarding experience, and I look forward to presenting my data again.
Finally, I've attended 2 bachelor parties, and with Susan, attended 2 weddings. We also took a trip to Moab, Utah for a mountain biking adventure. Lastly, I've been a victim to an ebay scammer and to thieves that shattered my car window. More on all of this in my future posts.
All of these pics were from Chad (thanks dude!) from our City of Rocks trip in April. Thanks to Chad and Crusher for taking these pics. Its rare that I have pics of myself climbing. Here's the group on top of Bath Rock at the end of a very fun climbing trip....well there was just a bit more fun on the ride home as i tested, once again, how my ADH levels were doing. I wasn't driving.
However, she told me in no uncertain terms, that she does not intend on me a) waltzing out of her lab with a PhD or b) spending the next 5 years skiiing, climbing, biking, and occasionally patch clamping and obtaining earth-shattering data but only when the moon is full and its next to Jupiter. No, I have work to do and i've been trying my hardest to get things cranking in the lab.
But combine the desire to be ultra-prodictive with a MAJOR move! The ADD lab is expanding, and we, the Wilcox lab, was finally able to move to the holy grail of our building, the ground floor. In patch clamping, mechanical vibrations are a sure killer. Imagine trying to patch a living cell with a glass electrode...you're basically blasting a hole in its membrane, and praying that the cell doesn't notice--if it does, and it doesn't like it, POP goes the cell, and your experiment with it. Now, imagine the entire floor shaking with every person's footstep while you're trying to poke a 1 micron size hole in the side of a cell. How small is a micron? it is 1/25,000 of an inch, 1/1000 of a millimeter. a human hair is about 50 microns, the bacteria that causes Staph infections is about a half micron. So any type of vibration that we can see with our eyes, with our scopes, is HUGE. Anyway, the entire lab moved downstairs, and in that process, I was able to tear apart the electrophysiology rig, and build it back up, which was a great learning experience. The rig is now fully operational and so far, no vibrations.
So, in addition to cranking out data in the lab and moving, we have submitted two abstracts. The first is to the Eighth European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease in London, England. Needless to say, we are very excited to present at this conference. First, it is a conference specifically on glial cells, and all of the stars in the field will be there. I am really excited to meet the researchers whose papers I carry around with me (either physically, mentally, or almost, spiritually). The researchers who will be presenting at this conference represent the emerging field of glial biology. Their work has directly inspired hundreds of researchers, students, and projects. Their papers have begged us to question the most commonly held doctrines in neuroscience, disease, and development. Secondly, I've never been to Europe, and I'm eagerly anticipating setting foot in London.
The second meeting we will attend this year is the American Epilepsy Society meeting in Philadelphia, PA. I have attended this meeting several times before (Seattle, Boston, New Orleans) and it is exciting every time. I think that we will be presenting exciting data at both meetings, and I'm hoping for a good turn out at the poster sessions.
In addition, the work that we have accomplished in the past year and a half is being submitted in grant form to the National Institute of Health. It was quite a scramble to get all the figures ready, but our fearless leader has put together a very exciting proposal. I'm eagerly awaiting the results to see if we get funded.
I also presented my work at the Annual Student Symposium at the University in early May. It was great to show my work to my fellow students and to the post docs and professors in the audience, and to be asked questions and talk about my research. This was really a rewarding experience, and I look forward to presenting my data again.
Finally, I've attended 2 bachelor parties, and with Susan, attended 2 weddings. We also took a trip to Moab, Utah for a mountain biking adventure. Lastly, I've been a victim to an ebay scammer and to thieves that shattered my car window. More on all of this in my future posts.
All of these pics were from Chad (thanks dude!) from our City of Rocks trip in April. Thanks to Chad and Crusher for taking these pics. Its rare that I have pics of myself climbing. Here's the group on top of Bath Rock at the end of a very fun climbing trip....well there was just a bit more fun on the ride home as i tested, once again, how my ADH levels were doing. I wasn't driving.
Posted: Fri - July 13, 2007 at 09:15 PM
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Published On: Jul 15, 2007 11:24 PM
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Published On: Jul 15, 2007 11:24 PM