Kirsty the Scientist

After this whole debacle of the lab relocation, the hunt for the missing everything and the waiting around for each thing to be passed through all its initial checks and inductions; today was FINALLY the start of my first real experiment!   Using the plates prepped yesterday, this morning was a slightly earlier start in the tissue culture lab to serum starve the cells (which means they have a media containing all the nutrients and antibiotics they need to grow, but without the extra growth factors and signalling molecules (e.g. cytokines) that comes with the BSA, used in the enriched media they have been growing in up to this point). Then we waited most of the day to allow the serum starve to last as long as possible before starting the first timepoint of the experiment - inducing an inflammatory response in the cells with cytokines 24hrs before I assess the response the cells had and find out if they produced the protein I am looking for tomorrow. It's going to be a busy next fe

Seeding cells is the process of taking the cells that have been happily growing in their flask full of everything they could ever need, and transferring them into a vessel that is much easier for experiments! This more useful container for cell experiments are know as 6-well and 96-well plates, basically a plastic tray containing 6 small or 96 tiny flat bottomed cylinders, which looks a little like this:  The cells were 'seeded' onto the plate, with a supply of culture medium, and left to grow overnight in an incubator. Tomorrow morning, hopefully all the cells will have stuck (adhered) to the base of the plates and will look under the microscope like the 'eye' shape instead of the perfectly round shape you see when they are lifted off the base with Trypsin so they can be transferred. 

A quiet Friday today, setting up all the computers in the new office space and giving them a quick clean. It was really nice to start to see the office coming together - it's just round the corner from the lab so it will now be so much easier to be productive whilst waiting for parts of experiments to finish.  We were also waiting today for the cells and our booking in the tissue culture lab to split the cells into 4 batches, giving the cells lots of room to grow over the weekend. 

Today was mostly a organisation day - working out the action plan for next week so we can squeeze in a full experiment and actually get some results for my project by the end of this week!  We also checked on the cells under the microscope to check they were growing OK and to change the culture medium (or cell food!) to a fresh batch. I could see the cells stuck to the base of the cell culture flask in their classic fibrous shape: (looks a bit like an eye) 

This morning we headed across town with a box of dry ice to collect the cells from the liquid nitrogen store. We took them back to tissue culture to be defrosted, resurrected and ready to grow over the next few days. Also finished off the Western blot today, so should get some good results from those tomorrow!  Although it's been less than a week so far, I'm really enjoying working with and getting on really well with everyone in my research group. Now we're actually getting on with some proper lab work, I'm so excited for the next few weeks! 

It is only when you see a lab being set up from nothing, sit through all of the compulsory talks and have induction tours around all the labs and workspaces that you realise how much work can go into creating, building and maintaining the labs we're working in. I always talk about how much I like the idea of working in a multi-faceted team and the interlinking roles that all of these people have when they come together in the workplace and I think today, more than any, reflected the importance of everyone doing their bit in the chain (and bothering to establish a strong foundation in the first place!).  Yes, at times it has been annoying that we still don't have any cells ready to use yet  and the lab work we're doing is still just filling in time.  (The cells are still being stored in liquid nitrogen at -170C, hopefully we'll resurrect them in the morning.)  But today showed me what an amazingly efficient lab and technical team can look like at its start and best - I

So today started with so much hope and optimism.... which was slowly pulled away from us during the day!  The lab move means lots of chemicals and equipment have changed location or gone missing with all the packing and unpacking. We also don't have access to the cells we're using for the experiment as the couriers are not allowed to transport them. But on the plus side, I learnt how to make a gel for SDS-PAGE using some of the buffers I made last week.  Also the sunset from the lab was absolutely gorgeous today.  (I'll have to sneak a picture one day.)  Clear skies made for a beautiful view across the city, perfect for pipetting!  

Back in the lab today, making buffers preparing for next week's experiments. Still a quiet and slow day as we're waiting for a couple of things to be moved from the old lab before we can start any proper experiments; but today was a great start to working with my new colleagues and joining the whole group for a Friday night out at the pub! 

So I finally got in the lab today! Only to help unpack for a couple of hours this afternoon but it was a great chance to meet everyone in the research team.  Hopefully, I'll finish my introduction over the weekend and I'll be able to start real lab work on Monday! 

It didn't happen - the lab has still not been moved yet... so after a quick meeting with both of my supervisors it was back to the computer screen for me! (and another few days of waiting and writing blogs about writing!)  I think my introduction is going pretty well. It has taken me a while to get settled on a structure I liked; taking all these disjointed facts and figures and finding the best story to string them all together with. Today I think I'm pretty happy with what I've got so far. Today I was also thinking a little bit about what jobs and careers will suit me (either this is insightful and reflective or this is a sign of the writing craziness setting in...). Coming up to the end of this degree also marks my introduction into the real world. Unsupported by school and the family home or university and the student loan - out on my own, for real this time. So much of choosing a career is based around the kind of life you want to live and the environment you want

Hopefully, tomorrow will be the day I finally get in the lab!! Today was another writing day, and I think writing and mulling over the same things is making me go a little bit crazy! I can't wait to meet the post-docs and the rest of the research team I'll be working with so I can actually talk to people about all of this! P.s. I'm really proud of this blog so far, I can't wait for all the posts I'll have to reflect over as this project progresses. A blog every week day seems to be working so I'll try my best to stick to that!

It's a very weird and interesting to be working on such a specific topic that it has barely any search results! And all the authors you find are the same people over and over, including your supervisors! It shows you the odd specificity and specialty level we're working at...

I'm a procrastinator, I'll put my hands up and admit it! Not all the time, but if I need to write something that I really want to get right, I will procrastinate like nobody's business!  And its even more tricky when you're writing about a subject that is brand new to you, for the expert in this subject! 

I now have a twitter account for all things science, research and the blog! Take a look if you like: @kirstyscientist   via GIPHY

For the past three years, I have loved working with a local children's educational charity, delivering informal education in the community to  engage, equip and empower young people from disadvantaged areas of Newcastle. Over the last two years, I have ran my own project with this charity - running weekly Code Clubs, providing a creative space for children to discover technology and explore programming skills.  But there is the possibility that, during the next 8 weeks of lab work, I will struggle to get to the locations of the code clubs on time. So today I had a meeting to make a back up plan for what will happen if I can't get to the clubs - often only knowing my availability with very short notice.  I hope that with the preparations we have made and the young community I have worked so hard to build and grow these past years can take on a life of its own without me for a while. 

Because the lab has not moved yet (the lab I'm working in is relocating), this week will be a reading/writing week; so today I've been to see both of my professors/supervisors to make sure I'm on the right page with the aim of my project. I've been given another bunch of papers to read - in addition to the 6 papers I read over Christmas!  Over the next couple of days, I need to put together ~1000 word introduction draft, describing previous research that has lead to this point and why we're bothering looking into this subject in the first place.  Wish me luck! 

Essential, but underwhelming! Slow start for a first day, covering all of those fire safety and keeping everyone safe policies. Obviously all important information, but doesn't make the most riveting of blog posts!  It will get better, I promise! 

Hello! Welcome to the blog! As of today, 9 th January 2017, I’m a third year BSc Biomedical Sciences student at Newcastle University (in the UK, not Australia!) and about to start my laboratory project – a three month research dissertation. For me, this will be my first experience working in a professional lab with a research team on my own original project – hugely different from the teaching labs we have had throughout my degree. Don’t get me wrong, I have fond memories of our crammed lab benches, waiting for gels to run or reagents to settle or stain, having chats about our life at uni and making friends through our shared experiences. But I’m pretty sure this isn’t how it works in the real world! But why the blog? Well, so many previous students and lecturers have reminded us - almost incessantly - how quickly this time will fly by. Mostly as a reminder to keep up to date with work, as always, it can be so easy to fall behind. But I’m not sure if a career in