Greetings! It's been a snowy return to campus! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so we are in for a long winter. We have been very busy: our first exam of the year just happened, we called newly accepted students, and we just applied to tons of co-ops.
Hard at work on the blog:
Jade:
Hello! January passed by in a blur. I am continuing my research project in Dr. Geisinger's lab. A little blurb about my research project:
My project focused on BfmRS, a global regulatory gene in Acinetobacter baumannii. I hypothesized that BfmRS compensated for the stress caused when certain candidate genes are mutated. These candidate genes are likely upregulated by BfmRS when the bacteria is under environmental stress. I created a library of mutant bacteria that had random transposon mutations in a BfmRS negative background. This semester, I compared this library to another in a BfmRS positive background in order to identify conditionally essential genes, which are genes that are essential when BfmRS is mutated. I started doing CRISPRi in order to make constructs where these candidate genes are knocked down in order to verify these findings.
I have been learning a lot of new lab techniques and theories this past month. Applying knowledge from coursework to the lab makes it easier to cement these concepts into my brain.
Besides the lab, I have been swamped by coursework and extracurriculars. I am taking a sociology class called Environment and Society. We have a lot of lively discussions about the impact of climate change on different sectors of society. I will be writing a research paper on an environmental issue of my choosing soon, so I will update y'all when it is in the works.
I also promised that I would talk a but more about volunteering at Mass Gen in my last post. I work as a patient escort in the outpatient building. My shift is from 7-11am, so I am up at 6am and out the door by 6:25am. The crazy part of the morning is that two of my roommates and I run two miles to the hospital (saving me $2.40 each way on the T). They have zero incentive to do it, so I give them a lot of credit for dragging themselves out of their warm beds when its literally 2 degrees fahrenheit outside. Although getting up is difficult, I am wide awake by the time I am ready to work. I meet a lot of intriguing people, and we have plenty of time to chat on the walk to their appointments.
View in the hospital:
Here is a picture of the roommates who run with me to Mass Gen every Friday (we were taking out the recyclables):
This has been a busy month for me, especially with trying to fit in Co-op applications between classes, working in the lab, and studying for exams. Currently in the lab, I am characterizing D3 receptor agonists for G-protein subtype bias. With these compounds,
we are trying to treat Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders. A little scientific background: We have dopamine receptors in the brain, and when a compound, such as a drug, binds to them, they use G-protein Coupled Receptors to transduce the signal. To make things more difficult, there are multiple types of G-protein receptors and subtypes among those different types. We are testing these compounds to see if they signal through Gi1 or GoA. We are doing this because GoA is expressed more in the brain than Gi1, so if we can find a compound that transduces its signal through GoA specifically, that drug will have reduced side effects and be much more effective at treating a movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease.
Over the past month, I’ve enjoyed watching all the snow come down outside my window. I live across from Carter fields, and it’s very satisfying to see the snow gradually accumulate on the turf. I also enjoy watching tons of students make snowmen on the turf and play frisbee in the snow. It’s always a sad day when Northeastern sends out workers to plow the snow off the turf into huge piles on the side.
I’ve also been enjoying cooking since I’ve been back on campus. Sometimes it takes away time that I don’t really have to spend, but I enjoy making pasta and chicken cutlets and other great dishes for my roommates! I also made a great dip for the super bowl with cream cheese, beans, jalapenos and melted cheese!
