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| Introductions: Lab bench, blog reader. Blog reader, lab bench. |
Hi there! I'm Liam, a student at BASIS Flagstaff, and this is my senior research project! Let's go explore the magical, wonderful world of diabetes research--so strap on your seat belts; cause this project lifts off now! Whooo!
I'm conducting my research at Massachusetts General Hospital's Genetics and Aging research unit, headed by Dr. Rudolph Tanzi. I'll be studying peripheral diabetic neuropathy with Dr. Thomas Cheng within the db/db+ mouse model. Preparing samples, confocal microscope imaging, and data crunching are all on my upcoming to-do list titled: "Being a unpaid non-employee researcher whohasnoideahowtodofreakinanything." (This is going to be an interesting experience!)
I'm conducting my research at Massachusetts General Hospital's Genetics and Aging research unit, headed by Dr. Rudolph Tanzi. I'll be studying peripheral diabetic neuropathy with Dr. Thomas Cheng within the db/db+ mouse model. Preparing samples, confocal microscope imaging, and data crunching are all on my upcoming to-do list titled: "Being a unpaid non-employee researcher whohasnoideahowtodofreakinanything." (This is going to be an interesting experience!)
My research is essentially a three-layer chocolate cake: 1.) staining and determining optimal protein concentrations for tissue samples, 2.) quantifying intraepidermal nerve fiber densities (IENFD) via confocal light microscopy, and 3.) calculating mechanical threshold values from Von Frey experiments on high-fat diet mice. This is a lot to unpack, so I'll explain each section in detail within my next few posts.
I'll leave this here for now, but thanks for coming along on my SRP adventure! I'm excited to see what will happen in the next three months!
Until next time,
Liam
I'll leave this here for now, but thanks for coming along on my SRP adventure! I'm excited to see what will happen in the next three months!
Until next time,
Liam
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5 comments:
Hi! Look forward to seeing what you do, bro! Is there anything you expect out of this, and what implications could your results have in terms of diabetes research?
Great voice in your blog. I for one am hoping that you explain some things in layman's terms because I don't understand biology all that well.
Hi Mackenzie! I hope to gain in-depth knowledge about current cutting-edge diabetes research, and contribute to that via my experiments. Identifying markers for diabetic neuropathy can help doctors better diagnose and treat neuropathy. That said, 3 months is a short period of time for any extensive research, so I'm hoping to accomplish as much of my goal as possible.
Hey Rachel, I'll definitely keep all my posts straightforward! :)
I think it will be a great learning experience for you. Even though it is only three months, that is three months experience you have over other freshmen entering college. I hope you also share about your experiences in the lab, not just your recent developments.
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