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Kylie, First Week

I’m about to wrap up my first week in the lab and I learned that Californians do in fact use the word “gnarly” as much as one would think.



The graduate student's paper!
View from the lab
My lab is located on the UCLA campus right next to Westwood, which is a great spot to grab food or go shopping (basically I’m in my happy place). And everything here in Los Angeles is vegan! Even my PI! I was a little bit worried that I’d be living off Clif Bars for lunch, but the students in my lab are so welcoming and friendly that I have been blowing through my allowance easily by going out to eat almost twice a day, everyday so far. I feel so at home in my lab--the people are amazing, the location is great (and sunny), and the science is incredible. Before starting my internship I was a little concerned that I would be placed in a corner to pipette from 9-5, but I got more than I could ever hope for. The graduate student whom I am shadowing, Preston, explains everything in so much detail and so clearly. On the first day, he already let me handle the membrane after we transferred the protein from our gel electrophoresis. The western blot, a method that Dr. Goldstein wants me to master, is much more complicated than I initially anticipated (which makes it more fun to do, of course). I am already assigned a project that follows up on the results that Preston and I collected yesterday to do on my own. Today, we had our first lab meeting. There are ten lab members total. One of them is a girl named Blake, who has the exact same dates as me. Another, Johnny, is an undergraduate student who has been a big help me--I’ve never met someone so passionate before. I printed out a paper today on the relationship between HoxB13 and an androgen receptor splice variant so I could familiarize myself with the field a little more. When I checked the authors, it ended up being the first paper of the graduate student sitting next to me! I nerded out a little bit.
I love the fact that I can talk about the lab’s research so easily. Thanks to my preparation through EXP and the help of Dr. Peretz during spring term, I’ve been able to follow most of the really complicated experiments and discussions well--I’ve even surprised my grad student. Not only is my understanding of the field a little bit of a leg up in the lab, but it has let me actively engage in conversations with my peers. I don’t think I can get away with talking about science like this back at home.
Another note--after only being here for a week, I’ve learned a lot about people in general. I’ve only heard a few stories so far, but this lab experience has really expanded my world view. Not everyone takes the expected path to get where they want. I hope to get some more life lessons along the way…

Hopefully next time I blog I can share some details about a comparison between primary basal and luminal cells and those cell types in organoid structure in their expression of MEII!
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  1. UnknownJune 18, 2018 at 6:01 PM

    Sounds like you are making a smooth transition to the lab! I am happy you have lots of food options but you are in a great place for that! Looking forward to reading more about your experiences in lab.

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